Notes Tied To Balloons
by crOwnlEssG
Summary: As a fledgling, Castiel had a very big, very interesting family. Each story will stand on its own and will consist of three chapters. Final story's up: All great things come from humble beginnings. Humble beginnings become great things when someone believes in them.
1. Sneaking Out of Heaven with Balthazar

Author's notes: Hello, everyone! I just wanna make some things clear first, so I'll just make this a short one then you can go read the story.

Remember when Cas mentioned that his true form's as big as the Chrysler building? Here, angels get bigger the older they get, so Cas and some of the other angels will be about kid-sized :D

That's it. You can go ahead and read the story now!

* * *

_You and I both are nothing but thieves  
We take what we want when we need  
I had a chance for a better life  
But all that I've known is to  
Run, run, run, from a devil in disguise  
Like a bullet, a bullet, a bullet into the night  
We are the last generation of hope  
And I wouldn't mind if  
Together we died alone_

_._

_Bullet – Steel Train_

* * *

"Hurry up, Castiel! You're slowing us down!" Balthazar called out over his shoulder. He loved his brother, he honestly did, but if Castiel would lag behind him one more time, he was going to kick him into the nearest cloud and hope that he would at least escape detection by then.

"Why are we being chased anyway?" cried out Castiel.

Balthazar did not reply until they reached a path that went downward. "I might've… borrowed something from the Garden as a keepsake." he slyly said. He pulled the golden apple slightly out from where he was keeping it, enough to an extent that Castiel could see it for himself.

Without even turning around, he knew that the face his brother had on right now was anything but pleased.

"_You stole from the Garden?_" Castiel exclaimed, and _now_ he decided to fly a little faster. "Balthazar, you _know_ that it's forbidden to take anything there! It's no wonder we are being sought out!"

Balthazar tried hard not to snicker. "It's also forbidden for any fledglings to _enter_ the Garden." he remarked.

Behind him, he heard Castiel stop flying for the briefest of seconds before speeding all the way next to him. "You told me we're allowed!" he yelled.

"I lied." said Balthazar.

"Then you deserve whatever punishment they're going to give you!" Castiel huffed out.

The air crackled with electricity and the two of them barely dodged a stream of lightning bolts in time.

"They'll punish you too, you know. It was you who got us into the Garden." Balthazar said, chuckling.

"That's because you lied to me! I would never have done it otherwise." said Castiel worriedly.

"Well, you've always wanted to see what it looked like on the inside, and now you have." Balthazar laughed. "Besides, there's nothing more we can do now. They're after you and me, so we might as well make a hasty retreat."

"Balthazar – "

"Or do you wish to explain the situation to our pursuers?"

If Castiel were human, Balthazar bet his wings that he would be paling by now.

"So what do you suggest we do?" asked Castiel.

Balthazar spared a final survey at where they were. "We can't stay in Heaven; it's too heavily patrolled." he said. "That leaves Earth,"

"_Earth_? Balthazar, we've… We don't know how to choose a vessel yet, let alone inhabit one." said Castiel.

"Would you stop worrying, brother? Everything is under control. We're…" Balthazar tried not to admit that they were still fledglings, because while that was the truth and while that was actually an advantage right now, admitting that felt like saying that they were weaker, more vulnerable, easy targets. "…not fully grown yet. Only matured angels require vessels. We can interact with what's on Earth as we are without giving away our signature, unlike our older siblings who break and burn everything with a single touch."

Castiel was looking at him with pleading, hopeful blue orbs. "Promise me you're not lying this time," he said.

"I promise, Castiel. And I'll take care of everything once we arrive." said Balthazar, matching his brother's gaze.

Castiel appeared unsure, but he nodded eventually anyway. Together, they escaped Heaven's gates and hurtled down to Earth.

O_x

Visits to Earth were never that common, hence landings had not been that tackled. When they tumbled down onto a forest, Balthazar landed on top of Castiel and plowed him into the ground.

"Get... off me… Balthazar." moaned Castiel.

Balthazar was already getting up before his brother even spoke. "Has anyone ever told you that you make a very soft landing pad?" he snickered.

An icy blue glare met him and, for a second, Castiel almost looked threatening.

"Come on, brother; let me help you up." said Balthazar as he pulled Castiel from where he was half-buried in the soil.

Once they both got their bearings, they took in the full scale of their surroundings: it was the middle of the night, the grass made wet by a thick mist. Shadowy trees towered over them and it was virtually like they were in the midst of a gathering of their older siblings which, all things considered, was a daunting thought.

"What do we do now?" Castiel asked.

"Nothing but hide and wait for them to grow tired." said Balthazar.

"That could take decades."

"It's not like we have anything better to do anyway."

Castiel turned away from him and went forward a little bit, staring at the mist. "This is bad. Coming down here… We're just going to get into more trouble. Maybe we should just go back and – "

"No! Castiel, we are not going back to Heaven, not now." Balthazar interjected.

When he saw his brother's frightened expression, he toned down and projected an encouraging aura. "Everything will be fine. If we _are_ going to be punished, we might as well make the most of our time here and enjoy ourselves." He extended himself and spun in place, twisting and curling some of the mist to form a foggy whirlpool around him. "Look at us! We're on Earth; not a lot of fledglings could achieve such a feat!" he proclaimed.

Castiel looked around, as if noticing for the first time that they were indeed where Balthazar said they were. "I suppose you're right." he muttered.

"You _suppose_? Would it hurt you to show a bit more enthusiasm?" said Balthazar. He glanced at the copious amount of mist and an idea was sparked. "Are you up for a contest of creativity? Or are you afraid that I will beat you once more?"

Castiel stiffened and the light of his Grace grew brighter. "I will not lose again." he said seriously.

"We'll see about that."

They spent a good part of the evening shaping the mist into structures and creatures, each handiwork trying to obliterate the other. A 'tree' fell on a 'bird'. A 'giant' crushed the 'tree'. A 'dragon' annihilated the 'giant'. A 'stick' poked at the 'dragon's' throat and made it throw up so much it died.

("How can a stick kill a dragon?"

"It's a special stick."

"How can it be special? It's a stick!"

"It just is, alright? The whole point of this is to be creative!"

"Fine! But from now on, no more special anything!")

They went back to fabricating things from the mist for a little while longer until they felt a third presence within the area. They cleared out their works and made the mist smooth again; once that was completed, they did their best to hide themselves, which meant dimming their light, concealing their Grace and making themselves as small as possible.

If the newcomer was an angel – specifically, one that was searching for them – fleeing would be a terrible option; the two of them might be fast but the ones after them were faster. If the newcomer turned out to be human then it would also be a risky situation, since humans were not supposed to see angels in their true forms.

After a few seconds, to their relief, the new comer happened to be neither. Regardless, they did not move from where they were huddled; if anything, they made the shadows and mist enveloping them thicker.

A large being emerged from the trees, its shape was that of an exaggeratedly lanky human but its color was a spillage of the darkest of blue speckled with glimmering light. Great power radiated from it, enough to label it a threat. Balthazar turned to Castiel to see if he knew what this creature was; however, he made it apparent that he did not have a clue either.

They watched until the creature vanished from sight, and eventually from their senses. Balthazar got up when he deemed that it was safe. "Let's follow it."

"Why?" Castiel inquired tensely.

"I want to see what it does." he replied, already going after it.

"It floats around in a forest at night." attempted Castiel. "Balthazar, please, let's just go. I don't like this."

Instead, Balthazar grabbed his brother and pulled him forward. "You're always worrying. For all we know, we could've discovered a whole new species! Surely that would be enough to clear our names?" he excitedly pointed out.

"But that kind of discovery is highly unlikely – "

"Unlikely but not impossible." stated Balthazar. "Have faith, Castiel. There's a reason why we saw that creature in the first place."

Finally, Castiel agreed and moved beside him rather than being dragged at the rear.

It did not take long for them to find the creature again, and at that point, they had entered a sort of clearing. They stopped and observed from afar as the creature approached a wooden structure, the type that humans dwelled in.

"I think it's called a house." said Castiel.

"A house? Well, that's a stupid name." Balthazar remarked.

The creature went through the walls and was at once inside the house. In a square opening illuminated by a small fire inside, the two of them could see a tiny human – who was nearly their size – doing… something. The human was waving an object around and making odd, repetitive noises. They were not sure what the human was doing, but it seemed like a very pleasing task.

"Balthazar," Castiel began. "Is this what… 'playing' looks like?" he wondered.

"I think it is." said Balthazar in awe after a while.

Angels were never allowed to play; there was simply too much that needed to be done and they had been told that activities such as 'playing' were a waste of time. As they continued to watch, they wondered if something this enjoyable should really be banned, they wondered if there was more to existence than just training to be soldiers.

They had completely forgotten about the creature they had been tracking until it appeared in the same room as the human. Suddenly, the predicament was not so light-hearted anymore. The creature was definitely supernatural, and the reality that it was in such close proximity to a human will never end well for the latter. The human appeared oblivious to the creature as it got nearer and nearer.

Before either Balthazar or Castiel could think of what to do, the creature produced a pouch from its dark depths. The creature reached in and sprinkled its contents – sand, as it turned out – over the human. The human's movements gradually slowed before stilling altogether; the human dropped its play-thing and fell limply forward.

Balthazar felt Castiel cower beside him, but he kept his brother in place.

"It just killed that human." whimpered Castiel.

"We… We don't know that for sure." said Balthazar, although even he did not believe his own words.

The creature then towered over the human; what followed after was the creature scooping out the human's eyes.

Castiel cringed and sniveled and Balthazar found himself copying him.

"Balthazar, let's go. I don't want to be on Earth anymore." pleaded Castiel.

As much as Balthazar wanted to leave, several thoughts stopped him. "We can't just abandon this. We're responsible for this." he said.

"We didn't do anything!" Castiel exclaimed.

"I know, and we should've. We just watched that human die and get its eyes taken out. We could have stopped that creature before it even got here!" said Balthazar. "That human died because of us. We should… We should avenge it!"

Castiel looked as if he did not know what to do anymore. "I don't want to get into any more trouble." he said quietly.

With this attitude, Balthazar wondered if Castiel had made the right choice in becoming a soldier. "You want to be a soldier, right? This is what soldiers do: they fight those who did wrong!"

Castiel broke away from his gaze but Balthazar knew that he had made his point. "We'll do it for the human." he ultimately said.

"For the human." Balthazar agreed. Then, he realized another thing. "What do we do?"

A calculating look entered Castiel. "That pouch. If we get it and use it on the creature…"

"I think that's a very apt punishment. Good work, brother." admired Balthazar.

Castiel smiled, which was a rare occurrence. "I'll keep it occupied while you steal the pouch." he instructed.

"Gladly,"

They went their separate ways almost immediately afterward; Balthazar hid in the shadows while Castiel sped off the other direction to wait for the creature to exit. When the creature finally came out of the house, Castiel started to telekinetically snap off branches and hurl them one by one at the target.

The creature was hit by the first batch of branches, and Balthazar was thankful that at least they were dealing with something solid. Unfortunately, the creature quickly recovered and soon it was dodging branches fluidly. If the creature continued to adapt, Balthazar knew that it would only be a matter of time before the creature reached Castiel; Balthazar decided it was time for him to act.

He crept toward the creature from behind, trying to remember where its pouch was hidden. It would have been simpler if he could just telekinetically summon the pouch, but the creature's power was blocking him from doing so. The creature was just within his reach when he felt a wave of power fleetingly go through it; less than a second later, Balthazar witnessed Castiel being blasted away by the creature's outstretched hand. From the sound of it, Castiel was hurt.

Fear filled him for an instant, immobilizing him; he was alone now and his brother could be severely injured. Balthazar wanted to fall back but then remembered the point of doing all of this; if he retreated, everything would have been in vain. He was about to get a hold of the creature when – too late – his presence was acknowledged and Balthazar had to distance himself.

"_What is the meaning of this_?" the creature rasped, its voice as thin as frost in the air and as sharp as broken light.

Balthazar found it hard to speak all of a sudden. He got into a battle-ready stance yet the pose was off-balance. "You killed that human." he said.

The creature went closer to him, squinting what had to be its eyes in assessment. "_I put him to sleep; him and the rest of his siblings._" it replied.

Sleep? What was sleep, Balthazar wondered. Another term for murder perhaps? "And you stole the human's eyes." he pressed on.

"_That,_" it began. "_Is true. I need human eyes to feed my family._"

Where was Castiel? "You won't get away with this. We'll stop you." Balthazar said.

The creature laughed, which was a misleadingly gentle, soothing sound. "_Stop me? You have some nerve believing you can stand against me, insolent fly._" It glanced up at the sky and returned to Balthazar wearing a livid expression. "_You and your accomplice have overthrown my schedule! There is no way I can collect enough eyes to satisfy my family now._"

At that, Balthazar was appreciative for this small consolation.

"_Although,_" the creature said slowly. "_I don't think they would mind a substitution in their diet._"

Before Balthazar could process things, the creature had its pouch out and practically its entire worth of sand was coming straight for him.

"Look out!"

That was Castiel's voice. When Balthazar was up to pace with reality again, Castiel had already pushed him several feet away. This was a good turn of events; with the advantage of numbers on their side, and with the stock of enchanted sand out of the way, they could beat this creature. Though without the sand, they needed to think of another plan, but now the creature was without its main weapon and certainly his and Castiel's combined power can overcome their adversary.

"We have you now." announced Balthazar confidently.

"_Quite not._" it said, grinning. "_My sand may be gone, but I have your brother._"

Balthazar tensed and immediately turned to where Castiel was. He discovered that the sand that had been meant to hit him did not fall to the ground; instead, the sand – every grain of it, it seemed – had struck Castiel when he pushed him out of the way.

"Balthazar," Castiel called out weakly as he stumbled backward into a tree. "I don't… feel well."

The light of his Grace was flickering and Castiel was having more and more trouble trying to keep himself straight.

He was dying.

"Castiel!" Balthazar rushed over to his brother and acted as his support. No, no, no, no. Castiel cannot die; this was not supposed to happen!

"_It seems that my sand has a slow effect on angels, but it's working, undeniably working. He will be asleep soon enough and then I shall have him._" it purred. "_I wonder how the eye of an angel will taste like?_"

Balthazar held Castiel tighter, striving not to panic at the fact that his brother's light was getting dimmer.

"_I have been given many names, little ones: The Sandman, Ole Lukøje, Morpheus... But you can call me your worst nightmare."_ the creature said gleefully.

Balthazar had had enough. "Castiel, we're leaving." he said.

They took flight. It was strange how in Heaven they had fled to escape punishment, and now on Earth they were fleeing to escape death.

TBC

* * *

_For those who are curious, Cas made the 'special stick' :D_

_How's my attempt at fledgling!Cas and fledgling!Baltie? Good? Bad? Horrible? Needs some work? Does it sound like them? o_x_

_Bit of trivia: there are actually two Sandmen out there; a good one and a bad one. The bad one's obviously the one who steals eyes._

_REVIEW FOR YOUR LIVES IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! XD_


	2. Part 2

_You're words still serenade me,  
Your lullabies won't let me sleep  
I've never heard such a haunting  
Melody. Oh, it's killing me  
You know I can barely breathe  
__.__  
Just like a crow chasing the butterfly  
Dandelions lost in the summer sky  
When you and I were getting  
High as outer space, I never  
Thought you'd slip away  
I guess I was just a little too late_

_._

_The Crow and the Butterfly - Shinedown_

* * *

Balthazar took them to the other side of the forest. It was hundreds of miles from where they had left the Sandman and he figured this distance would suffice. Hopefully.

When the shock of the matter had settled off, Balthazar went to check Castiel's condition again: it was bad – really bad – and it seemed that it would get worse. Castiel's formerly smooth-flowing Grace was flickering erratically, and the once bright form of his brother was gradually losing light by the second.

And as if things were not bad enough, when Balthazar attempted to get rid of the sand in the hopes that the effects would diminish, he discovered that every last grain had already entered Castiel's being and there was nothing he could do about that now.

He felt so useless. How could everything have turned out this way? Why did it have to be like this?

"Balthazar," Castiel called out. He sounded so weak, so fragile; it did not sound like him at all. "What's... going to happen… to me? What…?"

His words trailed off as he began to helplessly tip forward; Balthazar caught him before he hit a stone. This had to be the effects of the sand, slowly draining energy away until nothing remained. Castiel's light got dimmer again.

"I'm so sorry, brother; I'm so sorry. I should've… I wouldn't… Castiel, I'm so sorry." quivered Balthazar.

For some reason, even with his brother like this in his hold, he could not bring himself to admit that none of this would have ever happened if he had just kept in line. This whole mess was his fault, Castiel was nearing death because of him and he was still letting pride get in the way. But he meant his apologies so much that it hurt saying them, and as he thought about it, he wanted to hurt.

Castiel was always good; he followed the rules and paid more attention to others than himself. He should not be the one slowly dying right now; he did not deserve this.

"It should've been me." Balthazar thought.

He was so consumed with his thoughts that he could not stop Castiel from straightening up, which was such a slow process. "Don't be sorry. I should've... aimed the branches better." said Castiel using a great deal of effort. "I should've been faster. The Sandman... almost got you."

Balthazar could not believe this. Castiel was the one dying and he was the one who felt he needed to do better, not to mention that he was less worried about his own deteriorating condition. "Castiel, no, stop. You are _not _the one who's taking the blame here. For once, I am!" said Balthazar.

His brother's light became dimmer again, a reminder that Castiel was running out of time. They needed to fix this, and soon! But how? How can something like this be remedied?

Before Balthazar could think of anything, a voice echoed throughout the forest and shook the canopy.

"_You cannot flee from me that easily. I will follow you. I will find you. You can't escape sleep once it has you in its grasp."_

This was not good, not good at all. How could the Sandman be able to follow them this far? Then, it came to Balthazar that that did not matter at the moment. They had to get out of here _now_.

Balthazar grabbed hold of Castiel, who was weakening so considerably that he did not look like he can fly on his own anymore. "Let's go, brother; it's not safe here."

They took flight again.

O_x

This time, they landed in the middle of a field of corn, far, far away from the forest.

"Castiel, are you alright?" Balthazar asked.

Castiel did not respond; he was just sitting there, dazed, as if he had not heard him.

"Brother? Please answer me, are you alright? Castiel?" Balthazar fearfully shook him to grab his attention. When that did not work, he moved onto tugging his wings with double the force; Castiel always hated him for doing that.

This time, a spark of pain flared out of Castiel's Grace and his gaze found Balthazar's. "I... I'm so tired. Why do I... Why do I feel so... so tired?" Castiel inquired, fatigue dripping off every word.

Balthazar did his utmost best to calm down, though his words still came out extremely nervous. "Just be strong. You'll pull through this." he declared. "I mean, you _better_ pull through this. I don't want to carry you around all day."

For a little bit, it almost appeared as though some of Castiel's light was returning, yet when Balthazar leaned in closer, that was not the case.

"What's sleep?" muttered Castiel.

"I'm not sure. But whatever that means, I won't let that happen to you." said Balthazar.

"Sleep sounds scary... I don't want that."

Castiel's light flickered and dimmed again.

A gentle breeze was soon blowing over the cornfield, creating a rustling sound. Balthazar scanned the area for anything that could be useful but the only thing here was corn, and frankly, there was not a lot of use with corn. He decided to further extend his search-range for, at least, a better shelter, and Heaven certainly was not a candidate for that since they were still being sought after there too.

Then, Balthazar noticed that Castiel's light was fading unusually faster. Before the rising panic in him even reached its zenith, the next thing he noticed was that there was a giant shadow looming over his brother.

In an instant, Balthazar realized that it was the Sandman and he was speeding up the deterioration of Castiel's condition; Castiel was either too tired to know what was going on or he was perfectly aware of what was happening but no longer had the energy to move. Whatever the reason, Balthazar wasted no time and grabbed Castiel just as the Sandman was about to sink his claws in him.

"Can you still fly?" Balthazar frantically asked.

The Sandman struck with his claws again and Balthazar was hardly able to maneuver both of them to safety.

"I can fly." murmured Castiel.

"Good." sighed Balthazar.

In less than a second, they were off to the next country.

O_x

They were in a valley, at the outskirts of a human settlement.

Balthazar was appalled that already half of Castiel's light was gone. With the threat of the Sandman momentarily out of the way, he decided to put their limited time to good use by inspecting the rest of the state of his brother: his form was damaged all over, and if Balthazar had to guess, it was from when the Sandman had launched him through the forest. The marks looked like they hurt, but the pain they bore did not have much of an effect on Castiel, at least not anymore. His wings also appeared far too frayed.

Castiel's balance was starting to fail him again and Balthazar was quick to support him.

"Balthazar," murmured Castiel.

"I'm still here, brother. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I won't leave you alone." said Balthazar.

Once close contact was established between them, Balthazar could feel that Castiel's healing was not in effect, which explained why his external form remained battered. Balthazar wanted to help out in any way he can, but he only knew how to heal himself, not others; their superior had not taught them how to do that yet. He could always let this be his first try but he did not want to risk inflicting more damage than what he had already caused.

"I can't… fight it… I don't know… how to fight this." Castiel admitted wearily, his light flickering again.

Glancing around, as if an answer was hidden somewhere in the gloom, Balthazar's focus landed on the human settlement before them. "Maybe the humans know a way. If the Sandman has been targeting humans all this time, then surely they must have a solution to fend off the effects." he said.

Balthazar placed Castiel against a boulder as he rose to his full height. "I'll be swift. I'll ask the humans if they know anything about – "

"Don't." Castiel cut in. "Brother, don't."

"Why not? If they know of a cure, you'll certainly be saved!" said Balthazar.

"They don't have a cure… If they did… the Sandman wouldn't be… be targeting them so easily… anymore."

He had a point; even in his destabilized state, he still made the most sense. "Castiel, I still have to try." pressed on Balthazar.

Castiel gave a shake of disapproval. "Forbidden for us… to interact… with humans directly anyway… If one of them sees you… in your form… alarms in Heaven will be tripped… We'll be caught."

Balthazar felt his Grace crackle in frustration. He knew Castiel was right but he was not given a lot of options at the moment and time was slipping away; he felt so trapped. Stupid humans. Why did they have to be so… _useless_? Do they know _anything_ other than just lugging around?

At the edge of his vision, Balthazar noted the arrival of mist from the west. He would have disregarded it if he had not recalled that there had been an expanse of mist in the forest where they first encountered the Sandman.

Balthazar did not take any chances.

"Castiel, we have to leave. Now." he said urgently, pulling at his brother. However, Castiel did not look like he was going to move any time soon. "Castiel, we have to go!"

A little more of Castiel's light faded away and Balthazar really did not like how slowly Castiel turned before staring at him, and he really, _really_ did not like how listless his gaze had become.

"I'm so tired." Castiel said, almost like a plea.

"I know, brother; I know. But we have to keep moving." said Balthazar beseechingly.

Eventually, they took off again.

O_x

They did not get far. They materialized at the edge of a rocky cliff, just above the valley they had previously been in. Balthazar was beginning to really panic.

"Castiel, we have to move farther. The Sandman can easily get us here." he said insistently.

Castiel was trembling beside him – from exhaustion, from the effects of the sand, Balthazar had no idea – and it was an upsetting sight. "I'm so tired… so tired… Please, I want to rest." he muttered.

How he had said those words nearly made Balthazar want to comply in an instant; his brother was suffering greatly and Balthazar would do anything to alleviate it. However, if Castiel rested now, here, the Sandman might catch up to them, and then none of them would be safe.

"I'm sorry, but we must keep flying." he said ruefully.

He picked up his brother and they were gone.

O_x

They were soaring over the ocean, with Balthazar searching for a suitable place and Castiel hanging onto him and flapping his wings jadedly. With every couple of wing beats, Castiel's light wavered more and more. It was something that urged Balthazar to go faster and bear the weight of both of them. He wondered if the Sandman can cross oceans, and then he figured that it was probably best to be safe rather than sorry and kept speeding across the night skies.

All of a sudden, Balthazar felt Castiel stop flying for a second, which momentarily disrupted their balance and almost sent Castiel spiralling down to the water.

"What's happening?" asked Balthazar anxiously once they were, more or less, steady once again.

"I don't... I don't think I can... keep flying... much longer." said Castiel with hardly any energy left in him.

Balthazar tightened his hold on him and flew them faster. "Yes, you can, brother. At least let me find land. Come on, at least that. It won't be long, I can feel it. I promise, just a few more miles," he said, despite the fact that all he could sense was the ocean.

Even without glancing at him, Balthazar knew that Castiel's light was flickering dramatically. "Balthazar... I can't..." Castiel began.

"Come on! Don't give up!" yelled Balthazar.

"I..."

Before Balthazar could do anything, Castiel was plummeting toward the ocean.

"_Castiel_!" he screamed, in the hope of getting his brother to take off. Castiel nevertheless broke the ocean surface and sank. Balthazar immediately followed suit and dived in after him.

It was pitch-dark under the surface, but he had no problem in seeing that his brother was descending like he was created from stone. Sharks and squids made way for them, scared away by their light and with how fast they were going.

"_Castiel_! CASTIEL!" Balthazar tried again. Castiel, however, was not showing any promising signs of responding. The most infuriating (if not fear-provoking) fact was that Balthazar was aware that Castiel could see him, but he was not reacting in the slightest, like there was no one actually coming for him, or like he did not care that he was sinking further and further into the abyss.

Castiel's light was quickly fading by the time they were near the bottom of the ocean, and while the pressure of such depths had no effect on angels, creatures such as the leviathan and malevolent nymphs posed as serious threats, especially since they were likely to lurk along these levels. With a final burst of speed, Balthazar at last succeeded in grabbing Castiel.

He tried not to think about how unresisting and lifeless Castiel was when he pulled at him; Balthazar just kept his attention locked on the direction of the surface. It occurred to him just how bad Castiel's condition had gotten, and that it was continuously going to get worse if they could not find a way to fix this. Castiel was still alive, that much Balthazar was absolutely certain, but he was really enervated.

He noticed the golden apple he had plucked from the Garden fall out of him and go down into the dark. The thought of retrieving it did not even cross his mind.

After what seemed like forever, they broke the surface.

"Castiel? Castiel, are you alright?" Balthazar apprehensively inquired.

Castiel did not answer, did not even _look_ at him.

"Castiel? _Castiel_? Talk to me; are you alright?"

When his brother still did not react, Balthazar, desperate, started pulling at his wings again; Castiel's Grace did not so much as twitch. Thinking fast, he resorted to extending his Grace to Castiel's, or more precisely, poking the most sensitive part of his brother's form with bolts of shock. Thankfully, he only had to do it once for Castiel to jolt out of his stupor; he was reanimated with a start and flailed about the water for a bit.

"B-Balthazar?" said Castiel once he had gathered himself.

Balthazar sent a silent thanks to their Father, wherever he may be right now. He nearly let out a hysterical laugh at the blessed fact that Castiel was still alive but he reined it in. "You don't have any strength left to fly, do you?" he asked in a faux lackadaisical attitude.

"I'm sorry." Castiel muttered shamefully.

"It's alright. I think the flying was weakening you anyway." dismissed Balthazar. He scanned their area for miles, striving to find any stretch of land, even if it was just a rock that rose out of the waves; all the while, he held his brother close so as to prevent him from sinking again.

Finally, he spotted land, and it was near.

"Castiel, we're going to swim to land. It's not far; I'm sure even you can make it." said Balthazar encouragingly.

The way Castiel looked at him made Balthazar's Grace pang with guilt and concern. "I'm… so tired." he whispered desperately.

"We'll make it." Balthazar assured, beaming with forced hope. "We'll make it, I know we will."

Adjusting his grip on his brother, Balthazar led them to shore.

O_x

They sought refuge in a small cave, which was more like a slit cracked into the mountains than anything else. By the time they were inside, Castiel was trembling again and there was hardly any light that remained in him.

"... so tired... so t-tired..."

"I know, brother. Just a little further,"

Balthazar guided Castiel to the end of the cave, trying his best to keep his dread and tension masked from his brother. They needed to make their stay here a short one; the sooner they could leave, the sooner they could travel to find a cure. Personally, he did not require a rest; he could go around the world seven times even in this state. In fact, he could just leave Castiel here to recuperate while he searched for a cure, a course of action that would definitely save them time and spare his brother the effort.

He still went deeper into the cave though.

As far as things went, Balthazar nonetheless believed that stopping here was a bad idea. The Sandman could catch up to them, or worse, their siblings. But Castiel seemed barely able to move another inch, and the constant travelling was really draining him, practically helping the effects of the sand along. If they kept this up, his brother would have less of a chance of making it.

It pained Balthazar to see him like this. Castiel was known to be fast, accurate and dexterous; now his movements were sluggish, clumsy and pitiful. When Castiel's light flickered again, it caused him to falter in his movements and he stumbled. Balthazar caught him and he decided that this was far enough.

"Rest here for a while. When dawn comes, we'll head east." said Balthazar as he placed his brother on a bed of moss.

Castiel appeared as if he was having a difficult time concentrating, which was a first. "Thank you." he murmured eventually.

Balthazar sent him a heartening pulse from his Grace – of which Castiel returned faintly – before he started warding the cave with protective sigils. At the moment, he only knew a handful of sigils, most of which were not really that useful on his account, but he made up for the inadequacy by carving as many sigils as the walls, roof and floor allowed.

Silence was established, only to be later broken when Castiel feebly called out, "Balthazar,"

Balthazar immediately halted his progress. "Yes?"

"I'm scared." he admitted.

If Balthazar had the necessity to breathe, his breath would have caught at that. Castiel was scared. He, on the other hand, was filled to the brim with sheer terror that would haunt him for eternity and just about ready to fall apart. He did not know how much longer he can handle this; he had no idea if fear or insanity would get to him first but he knew that both of them were coming for him anyway. This – all of this – was too much for any fledgling to deal with.

"Soldiers get scared too." said Balthazar, pulling up a strong, easy-going facade.

He went back to working on the sigils. Dawn never seemed to take so long in arriving.

TBC

* * *

_So… how was it? Hopefully, it didn't suck as hard as I think. Please tell me it didn't suck! X_x_

_Thanks for everybody's support on this! Feedback is most appreciated! :D_


	3. Part 3

_And with the early dawn  
Moving right along  
I couldn't buy an eyeful of sleep  
And in the aching night under satellites  
I was not received  
Built with stolen parts  
A telephone in my heart  
Someone get me a priest  
To put my mind to bed  
This ringing in my head  
Is this a cure or is this a disease_

_._

_Show Me How to Live – Audioslave_

* * *

Dawn came, at last, and Balthazar had never been more relieved to see it. He went back inside the cave to fetch his brother.

"Castiel, dawn is here! We have to keep moving again." Balthazar announced.

Castiel did not respond, though Balthazar figured that much. He returned to the spot where he had left him, ready to pick his brother up once more and carry him all the way if he had to, when he came to an abrupt stop.

When he last saw him, Castiel barely had any light for his form. Now, however, he had no light at all.

Balthazar was at his side in less than a heartbeat, endeavoring to push aside his initial thought that they were already too late. "Castiel? _Castiel_? Brother, if you can hear me, give me a sign! _Castiel_!" he screamed.

Castiel remained totally unresponsive, and dark. There was no warmth radiating off him, no flick of Grace, no anything. He was barely a shadow on the moss and it was as if a light breeze could carry him away like the seeds of a dandelion until he disappeared completely. His wings had lost their splendor, right to the point that wilted, trampled flowers appeared far better in comparison.

Sheer terror rising like the sun behind him, Balthazar did everything he could to elicit a response from Castiel: he tugged at his brother's wings, with each attempt growing more desperate to the extent that he found himself yanking so hard he was almost snapping them.

When that was not affecting him, Balthazar tired to pull Castiel up, thinking that maybe his position on the ground was interfering and blocking the flow of his Grace. He was absolutely horrified to learn that he could hardly touch him, since his grip was literally going through his brother. Balthazar gave several more attempts at grabbing Castiel; however, it was like he had human hands trying to gather water in the same manner as picking up a stick. Castiel was there, he could feel him, but before Balthazar can secure him, his brother would slip away.

Angels' forms were comprised of Grace and pure light, and since Castiel had no light on him anymore, he did not have much of a form to latch onto either.

That left his Grace. Balthazar extended his Grace to Castiel again, hoping that something would happen this time. Normally, it was not hard to find the Grace of another, but for Castiel, it was as if he was sifting through layers upon layers of empty ether and mazes of undisturbed nothingness. The experience became more frightening the deeper he went. For a moment, Balthazar thought that Castiel's Grace was gone, that all hope was lost.

That his brother was dead.

And there, at the very base of his being, was Castiel's Grace, dull and petrified like the surface of a thick sheet of ice. Balthazar projected a tremendous deal of warmth and light from his own Grace and into his brother's, yet they all slipped off and bounced right back into him. Appalled, Balthazar tried again, and he was met with the same result.

With his Grace still within, it was safe to assume that Castiel was not yet dead, which meant that he could still be saved – Balthazar had to stop himself from succumbing to hysterical laughter at that small victory. He can still save him, he can still fix this and he can do it on his own.

Suddenly, the world outside became cloudier and darker as a harsh wind snaked its way into the cave.

_He's asleep at last. Now I can have his eyes._

Balthazar's wings opened up in (not fear, not fear, he was not afraid of him, he was _not_!) preparation to take flight again. The Sandman was here, right at the mouth of the cave. Balthazar scrambled to get a hold of Castiel, which was a near-impossible task. He could sense the Sandman getting closer, moving slowly as if taunting them. As Balthazar strived to pick his brother up, he tried to think of a place they could go to in order to get the Sandman off their trail. There had to be somewhere safe, somewhere extremely far and very protected, a place that had everything they needed and maybe someone that could help them like...

...Heaven.

It was then that Balthazar realized that, no matter how far on Earth they would go, the Sandman will always be nearby. This chase would never stop; the Sandman knew Earth better than they did and what Castiel needed the most was a cure, which would only be delayed if they had to keep watching out for the Sandman.

Their return in Heaven will not be pretty, but Balthazar figured that whatever punishment was in store for them, saving Castiel will far outweigh that.

"_Balthazar... I'm scared_."

Those had been Castiel's final words to him. He will not let his brother die with his final words being those; he will not allow it.

At last, Balthazar got a steady hold on Castiel's lifeless form and flew to Heaven, just as the Sandman was a hairsbreadth away. The last thing Balthazar heard was the wind screaming in anguish.

O_x

They appeared at the entrance of Heaven's Infirmary. Balthazar was thankful that there was no one else in here other than a Healer – Mumiah from the look of it – watching over the whole place. After readjusting his grip on Castiel, Balthazar went over to Mumiah just as the emotions and trauma he had accumulated on Earth were just becoming too overwhelming.

The last bit of distance to Mumiah was an inelegant, desperate zoom. Castiel remained dark and utterly lifeless all throughout and suddenly Balthazar just could not take it anymore.

"You have to cure him! You have to! He doesn't deserve to die, especially not like this! It's all my fault and…" Everything just tumbled out of him, the fear, the pain, the frustration, the guilt. It was all just too much; it was too much!

Balthazar glanced at Castiel again, who was hanging off him like there was no life left in him, his lackluster wings dragging beneath him. When he looked away, Balthazar discovered that he was crying, but instead of tears like with humans, light as dazzling as a dying star was streaming from his orbs. He knew it was pathetic to show this level of emotion, he was also aware that Mumiah was encircling them and taking every detail into account, but right now Balthazar could not care less.

"Fix him, please. He's my brother." he whispered. He never begged for anything; if he wanted something, he would just get it on his own. But this was different; this was an exception. He will beg his wings off if he had to.

"Calm down. And he's my brother too so don't talk to me like that." said Mumiah, coming to a halt in front of them. He was older than Balthazar and Castiel's ages put together, making Mumiah very big and very formidable as a Healer. Despite the threatening size, he still exuded the calming aura of his position; however, that hardly eased the pressure in Balthazar's Grace.

As if sensing his thoughts, Mumiah stooped down to their level. "What happened exactly?" he asked.

Balthazar knew he could always lie. Mumiah did not have to know everything; he would just report this to their superiors straight away.

He told him everything anyway. _Everything_.

When Balthazar was done, Mumiah had on a pensive expression. "I see. So he's asleep,"

"I know!" yelled Balthazar angrily. He just told him that! Had he not been listening to him? Then he realized that they were just wasting time like this. "You can fix him, right? Bring him back?" he inquired urgently.

"Balthazar, sleep is nothing to get concerned about. It's far different from death. Humans do it every night to regain energy. It's a sort of long rest actually, except it's a phase wherein consciousness is lost." Mumiah explained.

That sounded awful. Time would pass and they would not know what happened during that period; he could not comprehend having those kinds of gaps. How could humans live like that? They had such short lives and because of this 'sleep'-phase their existence would practically be made shorter _every night_. It was horrible, and it sickened Balthazar to know that Castiel was presently undergoing that.

"But Castiel's not human. Is that still bad?" he worriedly asked.

"Technically, angels don't sleep. We have no need of it. Castiel is merely… unconscious, unresponsive." said Mumiah.

Unconscious. Unresponsive. He did not say dead. Then that meant Castiel was not dying.

"His Grace… I can't feel it. And he has no light." pointed out Balthazar anxiously.

"Just as the shroud of evening is cast over the Earth, the sun is simply concealed, not gone." Mumiah moved forward and effortlessly managed to scoop Castiel from Balthazar and into his hold. Castiel followed the movements without any resistance, and Balthazar had to push down hard the idea of him nearing death.

It was difficult not to picture him as dying. Castiel looked so helpless and oblivious as he was being carried by Mumiah; his form was a cold, barely touchable phantom of a shadow and his wings were drooping miserably on his back, seemingly ready to fall off like leaves in autumn. How could this be regarded as 'rest'? It looked more like an irreparable damage that might as well be death.

Mumiah was staring at him as if he had just blurted out all of his fears and concerns. "I just need to remove the sand from him and he will be alright." he assured softly.

"How? I've tried –" Balthazar began.

"You're not a Healer like I am. Leave it to me; it will be a quick process." The words sounded like a promise, and the sheer fact that Mumiah did not seem worried was cause for hope and relief.

Castiel was not going to die. He will be fine; he will be conscious again. Part of Balthazar felt a little annoyed that he had to go through all the stress of believing that his brother was dying. However, he could not prevent a tremble of great joy passing through his form as his wings lowered in ease.

Mumiah was holding Castiel as if he were a human infant. Castiel actually looked smaller and less of a threat than he already was and Balthazar would have laughed at his expense if it were any other situation. He watched as Mumiah methodically pored over Castiel's state, and he stood back in awe as a fine silvery light materialized from Mumiah's Grace. It swept over Castiel's hardly-there form and eventually Balthazar came to the conclusion that it was to better take into account the extent of the Sandman's effects. When Mumiah seemed satisfied, the silver light disappeared and he turned away from Balthazar with Castiel in his possession.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Balthazar exclaimed, catching up to Mumiah.

"All healing is strictly to be done inside the Infirmary." replied Mumiah passively.

"But you said it would be a quick process! Why not just do it here?" argued Balthazar.

"It is the Law in Heaven." said Mumiah, turning to face him in his full form. There was authority in his voice now, the kind which indicated he would not hesitate in taking extreme measures simply to make a point. "Do you wish to break another one?"

At that, Balthazar knew it was time to stand down.

The menacing atmosphere vanished and Mumiah's aura returned to emanating waves of calm and safety. He studied Castiel again, who had not moved once in his hold.

"I won't remove the sand right away though. He looks like he really needs the rest." said Mumiah.

Balthazar was on the verge of arguing when he realized that Mumiah's last words were true. Even though there was barely any detail and substance that remained in Castiel's form, Balthazar could easily see that Castiel had been badly hurt during their time on Earth. There were scorch marks from when the Sandman had blasted him away, and there were multiple cuts from when he must have smashed into several branches during that same blast. One side of him was sort of - for lack of a better term - pulverized from the impact of falling into the ocean from such a high altitude even for angels. And then there were his wings that had been strained far too much, which Balthazar realized was partly his own doing.

Balthazar merely nodded as Mumiah, with Castiel, went further away from him.

"We will discuss the matter of your punishment, by the way. Don't think that you and Castiel can get away with breaking into the Garden _and_ coming down to Earth." said Mumiah just before he went into the doors of the Infirmary.

Balthazar did not care about the punishments anymore. He just wanted his brother back.

When he looked up, the last thing he saw was Castiel's wingtip helplessly sticking out in a manner that almost pleaded him not to leave. The doors closed and locked before Balthazar could follow.

O_x

Balthazar did not know how long he had been waiting in the halls, but it was long enough for him to lose concept of time. He had been getting more and more restless every time he glanced at the closed doors of the Infirmary. His wings were itching to fly, thrash the whole place, virtually anything that involved him doing something. He hated waiting, hated it because he felt so contained. It was making him insane, and the fact that there was absolutely nothing here to entertain himself with just made it worse.

Despite this, he could not bring himself to leave. Even if he really, really wanted to, he could not because Mumiah had the entire Infirmary locked down, which was mostly to ensure that Balthazar would not go flying off to escape his punishment again, as if he had not already learned his lesson.

His and Castiel's superiors had already dropped by to pay him a brief visit before the lockdown happened. Needless to say that unpleasant words had been exchanged and an unequally unpleasant future was waiting. For Balthazar though, this waiting was punishment enough.

Then, he sensed the doors leading into the Infirmary opening to a crack.

"Castiel!" Balthazar happily cried out. Before he could stop himself, he was flying at full speed to reach his brother and pull him into an embrace. He was alright, just like Mumiah said. He was bright again and his Grace was as noticeable as a beacon. His form was as good as new and his wings were a sight to behold once more, even though they looked a little ruffled.

But most importantly, he was alive and well.

Balthazar could feel that Castiel was taken aback by his greeting, his blue orbs wide in surprise and curiosity and his head tilted slightly in what room was available. Balthazar had to wonder if Castiel even remembered what had happened, but when his brother returned the gesture - hesitantly at first, then with a force that matched his - Balthazar's worries eddied.

"Are you alright?" he asked Castiel once they broke apart.

"I'm fine." said Castiel, and hearing him say those words had never felt so good. "Thank you for keeping me safe."

"It's because of me you got into this mess in the first place." said Balthazar.

"But you never abandoned me once, so thank you."

That was true enough, albeit that did not make Balthazar feel all that better.

"What was… 'sleeping' like?" Balthazar asked, changing the subject.

A haze entered Castiel's eyes, as if he was trying to retrieve something that was buried deep within. "I don't remember." he said distantly, almost like he was calling out from a faraway place.

"Did it hurt?" inquired Balthazar.

For a moment, Castiel did not look like he was willing to give an answer. "No, not really. I'm not sure." he replied, and he truly appeared as if he did not want to recall any details about it anymore. Balthazar could respect that, that was why he let Castiel steer them onto a different topic.

"I heard that a punishment awaits us," he said.

Balthazar's wings puffed out a bit in annoyance at their superiors. "I managed to convince them to place a heavier burden on me though, since I'm the one primarily responsible." he admitted.

Castiel's eyes glowed brighter and widened again; Balthazar just returned his response with a dismissive pulse from his Grace. Balthazar figured that that was the least he could do for his brother.

"So we're just going to wait here for our punishment then?" Castiel asked, and in spite of the fact that he did not say it out loud, the 'thank you' was more than visible.

"Unless you have a better idea," huffed out Balthazar.

"I do."

As Balthazar was about to ask what he meant by that, he abruptly stopped at the sight of what Castiel currently had in his possession.

"Are those the keys?" Balthazar asked, dumbstruck.

"Yes." responded Castiel bluntly.

"How did you get them from Mumiah?" he wildly inquired.

"I stole them."

Now it was Balthazar's turn to be the victim of pure surprise. Castiel - good, rule-abiding, disciplined Castiel - had just taken something that did not belong to him without permission, and he was showing off his act like it was an achievement. Balthazar stared incredulously at his brother who, instead of displaying anything that even remotely resembled shame or self-disgust, was flashing him a bright, genuine smile.

After everything they had been through, after the massive emotional turmoil that no angel was permitted to experience, Balthazar just had to laugh. He laughed like today was the best day ever in creation, and the bitterness and fear that had stirred his Grace evaporated instantly from him. In a way, he supposed this was that kind of day.

"I believe I'm a bad influence on you." Balthazar chuckled.

He laughed again, and this time Castiel joined him. They laughed all the way out of the Infirmary.

O_x

"_I need your help."_

"_I know. I've been hearing all about you, and as far as I'm concerned, you and me, Cas... Nothing's changed. We're brothers. Of course I want to help you."_

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_Yay! This part is done! :D_

_So sorry this took a while. Exams are coming up so expect very limited updates for a while._

_Mumiah is the "__angel who controls the science of physics and medicine and in the change of health and longevity." So says themysticguide . com_

_If you guys are wondering about their age in "angel standards," I'm not really putting anything definite here. Each of these stories will be set in different points of time, so ages will never be constant. The characters here in every story can be in any age you imagine them to be 8D_

_Thank you for everyone who read this. I'll give you all a hint for the next character: there's an "h" in the name ;) Cupcakes for anyone who guesses right XD_


	4. Life Lessons with Joshua

Author's notes: And the next angel turned out to be… Joshua! Congrats to those who got it right (you know who you are XD)! Here are the cupcakes (that are not mine): **tinyurl . com / 4o9h4br **8D

For the rest of you who are still feeling competitive, fear not! I'll give a hint for the next angel after this part is done :)

* * *

_It's all the same, only the names will change  
Everyday it seems we're wasting away  
Another place where the faces are so cold  
I'd drive all night just to get back home_

_._

_Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi_

_

* * *

_

Castiel longingly watched his siblings race one another who, unlike him, were not inside the Library and had already finished their Tests. It was required for every fledgling to take the Test if they ever wished to be assigned a full purpose, and finding a place and playing an official part in the Host were the point of their creation. The Test would vary for each fledgling, in order to ensure that there would not be any ideas or techniques copied from the others. If the result of a Test was a failure, the unlucky fledgling would have to wait seven hundred Earth-years before they could take it again.

Castiel refused to wait that long. He will not let himself fail.

Nevertheless, the days were beginning to be more and more discouraging. Almost everyone had completed their Test and passed; a few had failed but at least the long wait for them was finally over. Castiel wondered if he was ever going to be summoned to take his. Some of his siblings had told him to just be patient and be thankful that he was being given a lot of time to prepare; others had joked to him that the superiors had forgotten about him because he was so small. Castiel's wings ruffled at that comment - he was not small; everyone else was simply bigger than him.

He stared again through the multitude of windows of the Library, only to see that the number of his siblings racing each other had increased and had become more colorful. His wings twitched a little at the sight of them. He wanted to fly too, so badly, but until his Test was over there was not really much he could do right now other than accumulate knowledge. All around him were books, scrolls, records, tablets, diagrams and charts, and by this time he had gathered so much that they were all stacked to a height at least five times as big as he was. He needed to study, he had to be prepared for absolutely anything.

But it was so much harder doing this alone.

Most of his siblings had had company during their preparation. Now, however, those who were done were either currently too busy celebrating their success to take considerable notice of him or had already been given official assignments. Castiel was basically on his own, and with a final glance outside, he turned his back to the windows and focused on his studies once more.

As he perused through information after information, he started to wonder (and worry) what his Test could be. Uriel said that he had to burn a continually perfect hole through a thousand layers of tough rock _while_ answering the riddles of a dozen sphinxes around him, and for every riddle he had answered wrong, the hole in the rocks would fill up and he had to begin all over again. Balthazar said that his Test had involved finding his way out a maze practically as expansive as a planet, all the while avoiding detection from a creature full of eyes that was actually the maze itself.

He had heard more perilous and complicated stories from his other siblings, half of which he never wanted to ever experience if he could help it. Maybe he should craft some weapons to bring with him, just in case - but then Castiel did not know even the most basic thing about making weapons. There had to be something in the Library about making weapons; he supposed he could learn from there. However, there were only a few weapons fledglings were allowed to wield, and each fledgling was only permitted to carry one weapon. What if his Test called for a higher level of a weapon? What if the weapon he decided to make would prove useless for his Test? What if his Test did not require a weapon and he would just have wasted valuable time crafting it? What if the superiors had really forgotten about him? And what if...?

Castiel forced his chaotic thoughts to calm down. He was getting distracted. And he only got distracted when he was nervous. And he was only nervous when he did not know what to do. And that only happened whenever he was afraid to fail.

His mind was starting to ache.

He had not come out of the Library for weeks. His wings felt cramped and he was beginning to miss the cool scent and breeze the world outside offered. Nonetheless, he had to keep studying, he had to pass his Test, whatever it may be. He wanted to be a real soldier and contribute to the Host; he wanted to be a real soldier because that was the only way he _could_ contribute to the Host. Everyone else had the ability to contribute in a lot of ways in a lot of areas. Castiel, on the other hand, had been told that he barely possessed enough assets to qualify him a position as a soldier, but it was all he had to go on so he might as well take it.

He was about to start on a new book - one that gave an insight on human food ("What's food?" Castiel thought) - when a great burst of wind suddenly filled the whole Library.

Castiel saw that it was his brothers and sisters who had been racing each other outside, and apparently they had moved their race here. The combined shock wave of their flight had managed to knock him over to a wall beside his towering stack of books. His siblings did not seem to notice that he was there, or if they did, they were too absorbed in their own thrills.

It had been quite some time since Castiel had last been with a sibling up close, and from this distance, all of them appeared... brighter. It was as if passing their Test had enhanced them in some way, made their wings bigger and stronger and their light more amazing. Castiel just stayed where he was and stared at them in awe. He was going to be join them one day, be just like them.

Then, it came to him that his siblings zooming above him were beginning to seriously upset the interior of the Library: scrolls were flying away from their pedestals and books were being opened and having their pages ripped out by the intensity of the wind. Tablets were getting dislodged from their stands due to the extreme vibrations and a few of the windows were suffering from cracks. Shelves were toppling over one another and Castiel realized that he could get hurt here.

He tried making his presence known to them by giving out pulses from his Grace, but they remained oblivious. In the end, Castiel had no choice except to dodge everything that came his way. He was very successful at it, and for a while he believed that his siblings were about to leave and he only had to endure this for just a little longer. After a moment, he discovered that he was right as he watched their formation shift toward the direction of the exit. However, Castiel happened to be right in the path of the exit and it was with panic that he witnessed them coming straight at him.

Castiel protected himself as best as he could as his siblings carelessly whooshed past him. The rush and pull of air seemed to last forever and Castiel just wanted it all to stop. Eventually, it did stop, but as it did so, the sheer gust of wind that trailed behind his brothers and sisters brought an incredibly strong force, one that caused the mounds of reading materials around Castiel to fall on top of him. The whole thing had happened too fast and Castiel was unable to evade the collapse in time. The next thing he knew was that he was buried under innumerable books and pinned down by their weight, plus the fact that he was alone once more.

He tried wriggling out from under the books, but after a few attempts he learned that it was a futile effort. Castiel then tried to get his wings to unfold in the hopes that they could catapult everything above him; however, his wings were still far too soft and the tiny quivers he had managed to make with them only sent a few more large books and tablets to slide onto the pile.

This was bad. Castiel figured he could always remove the books using his powers, although when he tried doing that to a scroll lying in front of him, it did not budge an inch. Shocked, he tried doing the same thing to the tablet next to it, and the result was the same. This was really bad. Were his powers gone? Was this some kind of penalty for him not taking his Test much sooner? Were the Tests over and he had missed his?

As a last resort, Castiel projected a wave of distress toward any of his siblings who happened to be nearby. Unfortunately, it seemed as if his brothers and sisters who had been racing just a short time ago had already placed a considerable distance in between them. Notwithstanding that fact, Castiel kept at it in case another angel came within his very limited range. He hated that he could only communicate through short distances, and the growing anxiety within him was making his signals stutter and that much harder to send.

Where was everybody? Where were his siblings? He was desperately crying out for help and it appeared that there was no one around to hear him. He was starting to get very fretful. What if no one came for him? What if he was going to be stuck here forever? How could he gain a place in Heaven then?

"Hush, little one. I'm here now; I found you. Don't be frightened."

Castiel timidly looked up to see someone standing over him. He smelled of evergreen forests and lush flowery meadows and that put Castiel at ease for a bit.

"Hold still. I'll have these books off you sooner than you think." he assured.

Castiel did what he was told and felt the load on top of him lessen little by little. When he was able to get up, he did it slowly and cautiously met the face of the one who helped him. He did not look familiar, but it only took Castiel less than a second to realize who he was: Joshua, the one who took care of the Garden.

And he was big.

Being a fledgling, Castiel very rarely met the older angels, and whenever he chanced upon them, he was always struck with a blend of wonderment and fear. And right now, he was also struck with embarrassment. What kind of soldier was he if he could not even get himself out of a pile of books?

When Joshua offered a gesture to help Castiel right himself, Castiel merely shrank back in shame, his wings folding in around himself.

"It's alright, there's no reason to feel bad about yourself." said Joshua.

Castiel met his gaze before glancing away just as quickly. "Thank you for helping me," he said quietly, looking down.

The moment Joshua went nearer to him, Castiel's Grace began to shiver in response to his. Joshua's Grace felt as unmovable as a rock, but its radiance had an intricate pattern that closely resembled sunlight breaking through the foliage.

"I believe your name is Castiel; is this true?" Joshua asked.

Castiel hesitantly nodded.

Joshua smiled and knelt down to face him, an act that caused Castiel to retreat a tiny bit backward. "What are you doing here, Castiel?" he asked.

"Preparing for my Test." replied Castiel.

"You mean to say you haven't taken your Test yet?" There was no teasing or bite in his words; on the contrary, he sounded sympathetically curious. Still, that did not prevent Castiel from using his wings to start hiding himself again.

"What's the matter, little one? Are you nervous?" Joshua inquired, a laugh just at the end of his words, but there was concern there as well.

In a way, Castiel guessed that he _was_ nervous. But that was not the part that was really bothering him.

"Did they forget about me?" he shyly asked.

The reaction Joshua showed was either that of surprise or humor. "We never forget about our own family. What makes you think that?" said Joshua.

If Castiel had to be honest with himself, he would say that a lot of things had made him to think that way, one reason being that the superiors had thought that he was so limited in his abilities and therefore had nothing to contribute to the Host. Another reason was that the other fledglings had teased that he was so small hardly anyone noticed him.

Castiel had not been aware that Joshua had come remarkably closer until he felt Joshua tipping his head up to meet his gaze. "Castiel, how long have you been in here?"

That was a good question, and it was a question Castiel discovered he could not answer.

"I don't know anymore." he quietly replied.

Upon hearing that, Joshua placed some distance in between them as if to take in Castiel's whole form. "Well, this certainly won't do. A fledgling such as yourself shouldn't be wasting his entire time holed up with dusty old books for company." said Joshua. He got up and gestured for Castiel to follow. "Come, let's get those wings of yours stretched out, and a bit of fresh air might do you some good too."

Joshua was making his way out of the Library already while Castiel merely stayed where he was, totally unsure of what he should do. He really should get back to studying; his Test could come at any moment and he truly did not want to waste any time doing something tedious or pointless.

As he thought about it, his whole stay here had been tedious, and even kind of pointless. Maybe he should put off studying, at least for the moment.

Castiel hurried after Joshua just as he was crossing the threshold. Joshua smiled at him before he returned looking at what was ahead of him.

It felt nice to be out and about again. Castiel sensed his wings slightly opening up at the lack of walls pressing in on him, and all of a sudden he had an urge to fly. The last time he had took flight seemed far too long ago, when he had to retrieve a chart located on top of the highest shelf of the Library. The open space around him was so tempting the more he marveled at it, that coupled with the fact that the air was completely devoid of any angels made Castiel wish he could just take off.

But then... that could not be right. Where _was_ everybody? The skies of Heaven had never been empty before; usually, there was at least one of his siblings flying about. Come to think of it, where were _he and Joshua_? Castiel had never seen this part of Heaven before, and he thought that he had already been to every inch of it. Where were _they_?

"Do you want to know why you couldn't lift those books off you using your powers?" Joshua asked, breaking the silence.

Suddenly very interested, Castiel's attention switched to Joshua and he gave a nod.

"A spell was placed over the Library, one that prevented its contents to be affected by any supernatural powers. It has a long history in it, but it's basically to preserve the reading materials and discourage anyone from tampering with them and altering information." he explained. "However, I think the one who cast the spell forgot about _other_ variables, such as strong bursts of wind ripping pages off and causing things to fall over their little brothers."

Castiel felt himself go stiff for a second. "I'm not little." he muttered.

Joshua regarded him peculiarly before he let out a chuckle. "I never meant it like that. 'Little brother' just means that, in a group of siblings, you are younger. That also means that you have a lot of 'big brothers' who are older than you." said Joshua.

Castiel nodded, taking this information in. Little brother. It sounded... strange in his head.

They continued moving in silence for a while.

"What are your plans, Castiel?" Joshua asked.

"My... plans?" repeated Castiel, unsure what he meant.

"What do you want to do with yourself once this whole Test period is over? I certainly hope I wouldn't have to rescue you from an avalanche of books again." he said jovially.

"I'm going to be a soldier." answered Castiel straight away.

"Really? A soldier? That's certainly an interesting path, isn't it?" remarked Joshua. "Have you considered other paths though? Like joining one of the choirs perhaps?"

Castiel had thought about that, one time. But then he learned that he could not really sing all that well.

"No? What about a healer then?" Joshua pressed on.

Castiel had wanted to give that a try too, but then he realized that he did not want to see his brothers and sisters injured all the time.

"Maybe a messenger, like for the prophets?"

He had not thought about that, or at least not as much as he did with the others. That could be a good option, but then he would always be going back and forth and, really, he would not do all that much. He wanted to go to Earth and _do _things there, and messengers frequently had very restricted activities. So no; the life of a soldier was the only thing calling for him, the only option he had left.

"I apologize for asking all these questions to you." said Joshua. "It's just that... loneliness can sometimes find its way in the Garden. I hope you understand."

Castiel did. He was lonely a lot of times too, like in the Library.

The silence established itself for a while again. Castiel wondered if they would be heading back to the Library soon; he still had much studying to do.

"I'm sorry, but I have one final question to ask you," said Joshua.

At that, Castiel looked up at him expectantly.

For a second, it appeared as if Joshua was having second thoughts about whatever he had to ask. "Have you ever handled a kitten before?"

TBC

* * *

_...What? Kittens are awesome! 8D_

_Also, you guys heard about the new angel coming up? Rachel? If you haven't, then I just seriously spoiled you XD If you have... hmm, well I guess I have a new angel to add in this story XD_

_Nerdy little angels would love you forever if you showed this fic some love by reviewing :)_


	5. Part II

_It's when my world comes down  
You wanna change your little ways  
Tomorrow's another start  
But it looks like everyday  
You can't imagine how I wished that  
You could be the one  
Inside you were not the same  
But you look like everyone_

_._

_It's like a tidal wave that rose to take the stars_  
_A hurricane that wrapped around my heart_  
_If I could find a way_  
_I'd make a brand new start_  
_I can't believe it was the calm that killed the storm_

_._

_Anatomy of a Tidal Wave - Cold_

_

* * *

_

Castiel was staring at Joshua with severe bewilderment. "I... what?"

He knew what a kitten was - a few of his sisters had ever compared him to one, although he had no idea why they would ever do such an act, or why they would sometimes hold him in strange positions while doing so. Yet why would Joshua ask about it? Kittens had never been really considered with great importance in Heaven. To him, they were just another of their Father's many, many, many wondrous creations to observe, nothing more.

"I do apologize for dropping this unexpectedly on you, especially since I pulled you out of your studies. It's just that I suddenly remembered I'm having a bit of trouble in the Garden." admitted Joshua.

Castiel did not understand how a kitten could be related to a disturbance in the Garden. The Garden was filled with animals most of the time, all of them mere souls who should not be able to affect the Garden in such a way. However, now the oddness of the situation was piquing his curiosity.

"What kind of trouble?" Castiel asked.

Joshua appeared to be choosing his words carefully. "You could say that the very foundations of the Garden are under threat." he said.

That got Castiel's wings to flare out in surprise. "How can a kitten do that to the Garden?" he worriedly inquired. A kitten was such a tiny thing, whereas the Garden was so much _bigger_! How could a small creature make such an incredible influence over something so huge?

"There's more than one kitten involved actually." said Joshua. He turned to face Castiel directly. "Do you know anyone who could help me? I just need them to remove the kittens, and hopefully they could do the job fast."

Castiel was fast. He could do the job! "I can help you!" he proclaimed.

"Really? Are you sure you don't want someone else to do the task? You might want to return to your studies, after all." said Joshua.

Oh right, his studies. Maybe he should reconsider his offer. But they were just kittens anyway; he could catch them without a problem and be back to his studies in a short while.

"I'll do it." said Castiel more confidently.

Joshua was looking intently at him. "Alright. Thank you, Castiel; I honestly appreciate this." he said.

Castiel gave him his most firm nod, feeling like a soldier on duty already. "Which part of the Garden are the kittens exactly?" he asked.

At that, Joshua gave him a kind yet mysterious smile. "I'll take us there."

The next thing Castiel was aware of was Joshua cradling him near his Grace. While being in such close proximity to his aura, Castiel felt himself relaxing and his thoughts drifting like leaves in a gentle breeze. In a flutter of wings faster than light, they were gone.

O_x

When they landed, Castiel was a bit... alarmed at where they were. This did not look like the Garden at all; this place was so dim and cold and seemed as if there was not a single form of life anywhere. Where were the trees? The flowers? The fields? The light?

Had the kittens been responsible for this?

"Can you keep a secret, Castiel?" Joshua asked in the stillness.

Castiel became serious again and nodded.

After looking around, as if to truly make sure that they were alone, Joshua went down to Castiel's level. "You know how there are sometimes spaces in between two layers, like a tunnel or a cave tucked away by levels of soil?" he began. "We're in a kind of cave right now, the lowest point of Heaven and the highest ethereal peak on Earth. We're directly under the Garden as we speak."

Castiel could feel his Grace pounding with absolute interest. They were _under_ the Garden? This was unbelievable! He never imagined that such a place even existed! That explained the lack of vegetation and light, and as he looked more closely at their surroundings, he could now make out that the figures in the distance were roots of all sizes and lengths dangling from above.

"Very few angels know about this place, and for the sake of the Garden I hope to keep it that way." said Joshua. "I can trust you to keep this a secret, can't I?" he added.

Castiel nodded eagerly.

Joshua let a trickle of his Grace bless him and Castiel felt his job become that much more important.

"I suppose I really ought to let you do your job now. In all honesty, I would do it myself but..." Joshua trailed off with a chuckle. "But it seems that my size is scaring the kittens off into hiding before I can catch them. Not to mention that speed has never been one of my strong points," he added.

If the kittens were frightened off by the approach of someone big, then for once, Castiel was thankful for his size since that would make the task easier and quicker for him. "How many kittens are there?" asked Castiel.

"From what I have gathered, seven." Joshua answered.

Seven. He can handle that. This will be easier than he expected.

"Of course, there are a few things you must know before you go hurrying off," said Joshua. "First, as much as possible, please don't use your powers."

Castiel stared at Joshua in disbelief upon hearing that. No powers?

"I'm sorry, but the atmosphere here in this place is very delicate. Temperature, wind currents and surface texture must be kept exactly as they are. Should anything leave a mark here - even a tiny scratch that isn't caused by the natural surroundings - there will be a disastrous chain reaction above in the Garden. That's why I want the kittens removed immediately." said Joshua.

This could possibly make things more difficult.

"And I suppose you should limit on your flying as well, just to be safe.

No powers _and _no flying? If Castiel did not know any better, he would say that Joshua was purposefully making him do this as a typical human. This was… absurd.

Joshua seemed to have sensed his thoughts and spoke up, "I really am sorry for just telling you all these now. No one's forcing you to do this, Castiel; we can always find someone else."

That was true enough, albeit he was already here and a chance like this was extremely rare. He will not pass this opportunity up; the fact that he was in this place made him feel honored. He felt good that he was needed and that his service was being greatly appreciated.

"No, I can do it! I _will _do it!" Castiel proclaimed.

"Alright, Castiel, calm down. I'm not refusing you if you're willing." said Joshua.

Castiel flexed his wings, on the verge of taking flight when he remembered that he should restrain himself from doing that. The longer he stayed, the more the situation made him think, and while his mind was buzzing with options and alternative solutions, a question sprouted out of his thoughts:

"Why are there kittens here anyway?" he asked. Castiel suddenly had the vaguest idea of the kittens' souls ascending Heaven and into the Garden, but instead got stuck here in the middle. Or maybe they fell down a hole up in the Garden and resulted to being here.

"A couple of fledglings thought it would be entertaining to just pluck kittens out of Earth and have them as their own pets in Heaven. Apparently, the kittens are 'better that way'. They just placed the kittens here for safekeeping until they returned, which, unfortunately for them, will never happen in the future." Joshua answered, adapting a stern tone.

Castiel reminded himself to find out what the word 'pet' meant some other time. "So they killed the kittens so they can have them?" he frantically asked. How could his brothers and sisters do that to their Father's creations? Surely the kittens never did anything to deserve being smote merely so they could enter Heaven?

"What? Oh no, no, they never took the kittens' lives," Joshua began in a placating tone. When he continued, there was a sense of something in his voice that Castiel figured was uneasiness. "Technically, they took the kittens from Earth _as they are_. Meaning, well... we have _live _kittens in Heaven."

_Live_?

"But... that shouldn't be possible." said Castiel. "Right?"

Even without waiting for Joshua to speak, the fact that Castiel was going to do this job was enough of an answer. Still, this whole thing was a little unbelievable.

"This _is _the lowest point of Heaven, practically at the edge of its edges, so some of the rules don't really apply." said Joshua.

Castiel nodded, taking it all in.

"Regardless, the kittens need to be removed. The only difference now is that your task has to be done with utmost care, Castiel. If the kittens somehow die here in Heaven..." Joshua paused, his Grace pulsing in deep thought. "Let's just say that it would greatly taint Heaven. There's a reason why mortal creatures die on _Earth_." he concluded.

Castiel stared at Joshua, stunned. He wondered if such a responsibility should even befall someone as inexperienced as him.

Before he could voice out his concerns, Joshua turned to a certain direction, as if receiving a message. "I must go. I'm being summoned in the Garden." he said. Joshua blessed Castiel's Grace once more in support and then departed.

Now alone, Castiel looked around his surroundings and wondered what he had gotten himself into.

O_x

Castiel had been scanning small patches of area for the kittens for quite some time already. If he had been a tad older, the sweep of his range would be much wider; however, at the moment, he had to be grateful for what he had. His ability to scan was the only thing he thought was safe but useful doing.

He kept his wings folded behind him throughout the whole search and they were starting to get cramped. He was not accustomed to folding them like what most of his siblings did. In turn, they would sometimes remark that his appearance was scruffy and messy. Castiel did not care though; he liked having his wings simply sticking out and now he missed it.

Of course, he knew that Joshua had said to merely _limit_ and not to abstain altogether. Castiel just wanted to play it safe, that was all – he certainly did not want to be held accountable for any accidents. Albeit, even without his flight, he was pleased that he still had the element of speed and precision.

He went farther and farther to the point wherein he was having difficulty recalling the path he had taken. He was not used to such a shadowy place, especially one that had near-repetitive features: roots trailing from above, fallen debris scattered about and a humming silence. Despite that, there was beauty in the place that left him awestruck. The thought that he was underneath the Garden made him feel ecstatic, and whenever his gaze would linger on a gigantic root, it took him more time to force himself not to get distracted.

As Castiel continued to search for the elusive kittens, his thoughts eventually wandered back to his Test. Were his reading materials still at the spot where he had left them? Were the superiors finally looking for him? Should he work faster? Or maybe slow down so he could save his strength?

"Meow."

Castiel immediately went still. There was no mistaking that sound: it was a kitten.

"Meow."

Using his Grace, he managed to pinpoint the kitten's exact location and he rushed off. As he was making his way, Castiel noticed some odd flowers starting to populate the ground. He had never seen anything like them before; they were dark and they all had their heads drooping to the ground, although they did not seem to be wilting. In spite of their bowed conditions, it was almost as if they were constantly watching him. Castiel took caution not to trample over any of them.

It did not take long until he reached the mewling kitten. The creature was a dusty gray color, and it truly was such a tiny thing that someone as big as Joshua would scare it off. The kitten was located above on a thick root, with a considerable distance in between it and the ground. In addition, the reason it was mewling so helplessly was that it was about to fall off.

Castiel still found it tricky to find the line that separated 'severely injured' from 'dead' when it came to mortal creatures. However, judging by the altitude and the fragile size of the kitten, he knew that he had to prevent to kitten from hitting the ground. The kitten was clinging onto the wood dearly yet its claws were not yet sharp enough and half its body was already dangling.

Castiel hurried to the spot directly beneath the kitten, ready to catch it should it suddenly let go. His wings almost extended for flight before he reined them back - if he flew, he would be making a big gust of wind simply to reach _half _that height, a gust of wind that might prove to be damaging. Castiel searched for any surface he could use to elevate himself to the kitten's level, perhaps some longer roots that he could use like stairs.

He was still thinking of other options when the kitten's squirming finally caused it to lose its grip and fall.

In an act of quick thinking and instinct, Castiel exposed his wings directly at the path of the kitten and opened them just right to act as an appropriately wide net. Within seconds, he sensed the kitten's weight land on his wings. Castiel became unsteady for a bit at the unexpected force that met him before he regained control. For a moment, he could not feel the kitten moving and he feared that the fall might have killed it.

Then, he felt something sharp poke at his wings and Castiel was unable to suppress a cry of pain.

"Meow."

At least the kitten was still alive. But... how could it touch - let alone _hurt - _his wings? Mortals should not be able to do that, alive or dead, humans or otherwise. They should not be able to perceive an angel's true form.

_"This is the lowest point of Heaven, practically at the edge of its edges, so some of the rules don't really apply."_

Castiel wished Joshua had elaborated more on what 'some of the rules' were. It would at least prevent him from being surprised or caught off guard all the time.

He felt the kitten's claws digging into his left wing and Castiel decided it was time that he took the kitten off him. After some squirming and with Castiel going around and around like a dog chasing its tail, he at last had the, now compliant, kitten in his hold. He had never held a kitten before, and he had no idea that they were this soft.

He wondered if it was normal for kittens to stare this intensely at whoever held them.

He tilted his head at it, as if to question its existence. What purpose did kittens bring anyway? Surely they had one since his Father created them, but _what_?

"Why?"

Castiel got startled at the sudden voice and almost dropped the kitten. He searched for the source of the voice but found no one and nothing there, save for a couple of the strange flowers he saw earlier. Was he starting to imagine things?

"Why?"

The voice sounded closer this time and Castiel quickly picked it up to trace its origin. His gaze landed on one of the flowers... and he was certain this time that it was _staring_ at him.

Castiel tried to test the theory out. "Why what?" he asked timidly the flower.

On cue, the flower twitched toward him, as if to better face him. "Why did you save the kitten?" it asked.

Castiel stole a glance at the kitten he was holding, partly to make sure that he had indeed saved it. "I have a responsibility to fulfill." he said, trying to sound like a soldier.

The flower bobbed up and down in a slight nod and said no more.

Castiel held the kitten tighter and went in search of the rest. One down, six to go.

TBC

* * *

_Sorry this is a bit late. A lot of crap happened (one being SPN being moved to another week X_X) and basically that same amount of crap ate up all my free time. But now I am here at last with an update! :D_

_Thank you everybody for reading and for being patient! I owe you all a hug! 8D_

_P.S. If you ever became the script writer for a theater class, be prepared to hate life and tear your brains out due to demanding, chaotic people... That is all :)  
_


	6. Part III

Author's Notes: I know, I'm sorry this took a while, but since I'm in college, life explodes spontaneously. To make it up to you readers, this part's waaaay longer than the others, AND IT'S FULL OF KITTENS! :D

_

* * *

_

_So go on  
And I will refrain  
And I'll keep on running this never-ending race  
Maybe next time will be the right time  
And maybe next time will be your time_

_._

_Save Your Scissors – City and Colour_

_

* * *

_

Over a short period of time, Castiel had learned a few things:

One: while he admitted that his wings were still (somewhat) soft, apparently mortal creatures found it much softer and much more enticing.

Two: kittens were equipped with unusually sharp claws.

Three: the kitten refused to let go of his wings for long.

Four: Castiel believed he was feeling what was called 'annoyance'.

To possibly speed up his search, he had attempted communicating to the flowers every so often – to ask if they had seen any of the kittens – although none ever responded to him or even so much as twitched to his direction. Castiel then had tried talking to the kitten; however, it just meowed at him and batted at his wings again. That left Castiel to search on his own once more.

He was beginning to regret volunteering for this job. If he had known just how _big_ this place was he would have dwelt more on the idea of passing this onto another angel. His belief of this being performed quickly was fading from him and he was really starting to worry.

Castiel pushed himself to persevere regardless. If he refused to fail his Test, he refused to fail this.

The gray kitten popped out behind him and made a small leap forward. Castiel barely managed to catch it before it could land and have the chance to scamper off. As a result at thwarting its freedom, the kitten dug its claws into him again.

Being buried under a pile of books was suddenly becoming more appealing.

"_Meow! Meow! Meow! Meow!"_

Castiel hurried to where the frantic meows were coming from. He did not even require the use of his powers; he simply had to follow his sense of hearing. The gray kitten's claws sank deeper into his wings, probably intimidated by the speed he was exerting. No matter, Castiel can handle the pain; he just wished the kitten would stop being so scared so it did not have to cling onto him this fervently.

When Castiel came across the second kitten, he was greeted by the sight of a tangle of large roots sitting on the ground. He hoped that this was just a 'natural condition' here and not destruction made on his part because he had been too late.

Underneath the tangle of roots was a panicking, mewling orange kitten which appeared to be struggling. It dawned on Castiel that the kitten was unable to free itself since a particular root – too heavy for the kitten to ever lift – was on top of its hind legs. It was stuck and if Castiel did not hurry, the rest of the roots on the pile will roll down and possibly squash the kitten.

"_Meow! Meow! Meow!_"

Castiel rushed forward and started dismantling the pile with accuracy and care, since the last thing he wanted was to accidentally flatten the kitten and indirectly start wreaking havoc on the Garden in the process. In a matter of seconds, he had the orange kitten liberated, so he did not understand why it still kept meowing loudly.

He performed a sweep over it with his Grace but found no injuries on the orange kitten. What was the problem?

Castiel then felt something brush against him. He looked down and saw that it was another flower. "Why did you save that kitten?" it asked.

And just like before, Castiel's answer was automatic and resolute. "I have a responsibility to fulfill." he said with conviction. And while he was already conversing with this flower, he figured he should ask it his own question. "Do you know where the other kittens are?"

Castiel waited but the flower never spoke up again.

That was odd. Why did the flowers only talk when they were asking a question? And why _that_ particular question? Do they not know other words? Or were they merely curious?

Whatever their motives were, Castiel did not want to press on with them, mostly because he feared he would upset the already threatened balance of this place. When the orange kitten still did not show signs of standing up any time soon, Castiel picked it up and proceeded to find the other five.

O_x

Castiel was really getting annoyed, and it was not because of the futility his search had taken on.

The gray kitten absolutely refused to let go of his wings no matter how much Castiel tried to pry it off. The orange kitten, meanwhile, had yet to cease its shrill mewling and it was _really_ making him impatient, so impatient in fact that his usually calm Grace was sputtering out sparks.

Where were the rest of the kittens already?

As if sensing his distress, Castiel caught the barest glance of a little black streak scurry right in front of him, its size proportional to that of a kitten. He readjusted his hold on the kittens he already had and pursued.

Castiel would not dare admit that a kitten can reach a speed he cannot; he blamed it on the limitations he had been placed under, that he was purposefully holding most of his speed back because he did not want to inflict damage in this place. There was no way a kitten can be faster than him – besides, it had gotten a head start!

Ultimately, Castiel found himself closing in on the black kitten. Also, he eventually discovered that the kitten was heading straight for another tangle of fallen roots, albeit this time, the roots were comprised mostly of thorns than anything else. He realized that the kitten was unaware of the fact that it was going straight for danger. And if it kept running, it might not be able to stop itself in time from crashing into the thorns.

Castiel went faster and went around to overtake the black kitten.

Just as the kitten was mere seconds from skidding into the thorns, Castiel managed to swoop in at the right moment and felt his wingtips brush against the thorns ever so slightly. He forced himself to a (somewhat crashing) halt when the thorns were out of his peripheral sight, all the while shielding the kittens from the landing. Now that the danger was over, Castiel uncurled himself as the kittens began to act restless. The black kitten especially was endeavoring to fidget out of his hold, confused and panicky over what had happened.

Castiel kept them still as best as he could. That had been a close situation – if he had been late for even a millisecond... He looked back down at the struggling black kitten and gave thanks to his Father that he did not make any mistakes.

"Why did you save that kitten?" a flower beside him inquired.

Castiel had to catch the black kitten as it leaped out of his hold before he could answer. "I have a responsibility to fulfill, and..."

"And?" the flower pressed on.

And... Castiel had no idea where that add-on came from. He was doing this because it was his responsibility; was there another reason to save the kitten?

Although, the kitten _did_ come close to possibly injuring itself.

When Castiel noticed that the flower was still waiting, the just came up with whatever response he could. "And... Joshua's counting on me."

The flower bowed, and Castiel thought he had given a satisfactory answer because the flower did not ask another question.

As he got up to find the other kittens, Castiel could not shake off the feeling that he should have said something more.

O_x

Castiel did not think it was possible for his annoyance with kittens to escalate, but apparently it did.

The gray and orange kittens were a nuisance enough, though with the additional black kitten always trying to scramble and wriggle out of Castiel's already tight hold, he wanted to just smite something.

It was getting increasingly harder to push away the thought of smiting something small and furry.

He tried to calm down and clear his mind. He figured, if he had to think about something, it might as well be something productive. Castiel decided to review himself on his studies while he searched for the remaining four kittens.

He pictured sigil after sigil in his mind's eye, trying to brand every line, curve and corner into permanence in his memory. Castiel barely finished the second symbol when his Grace picked up on a kitten.

"… meow… me-ow…"

That did not sound good. He pushed the black kitten further down into his hold and actually even made certain that the gray kitten was firmly adhered to his wings before he hurried to where the fourth kitten was.

After a short time, Castiel arrived at what appeared to be a small lake, and right in the center of the body of water was a calico kitten.

The calico kitten was also drowning.

Castiel knew he had to swim across the lake in order to get to the kitten. If he so much as flapped his wings once, it would bring waves over the delicate surface, probably causing the kitten to submerge. He was curious as to how the kitten had wound up there in the first place though; the last time he had checked, kittens were not that fond of water.

Nonetheless, he had to get in there and rescue it. Castiel was about to step into the lake when he remembered that he still had three other kittens on him. Obviously, he cannot bring the three with him into the water, but he also needed to guard them, not to mention prevent them from disappearing once more. This was an infuriating dilemma.

If he stayed on land, the kittens he had already collected will certainly not run off and/or put themselves into any more danger, but then that would cause the calico kitten to drown. If he went into the lake, he would save the kitten from a watery grave, but at the expense of possibly losing the three kittens the moment he left them alone.

"...m'w..."

And that was it. With a bit of reluctance, Castiel put the gray, orange and black kittens on the ground. He let a little of his Grace leak out and surround them, so if one of them ever decided to escape, he would at least be alerted.

Castiel was fully aware that this rescue attempt will be trickier than the last ones; albeit, what he did _not_ expect was that the second he went into the water, he felt a great suction pulling him down. It was frightening revelation, and Castiel retracted himself on instinct. The strength of the suction would undeniably increase the further he went, much like a storm getting more violent the more he walked into it. Judging by the kitten's struggles, it seemed that the suction was nonexistent at the center – just like the eye of the storm being the calmest part – because, otherwise, the kitten would not be at the surface to begin with.

He was nervous now. He did not want to get pulled in and not be able to get up anymore. He did not want his light going out and the essence of his Grace slowly vanishing.

Castiel noticed that the calico kitten was no longer meowing.

The next second, Castiel pushed everything aside and made his way through the water. As expected, the suction became stronger, and he found himself struggling more. But more than anything, the part that was being affected the most were his wings. His disorientation increased the further he swam, and there were times when he wondered if he was still going in the right direction.

All of a sudden, when he supposed he was near the center, the suction was so powerful that he sank down, down, down. He never seemed to reach the bottom; Castiel wondered if there _was _a bottom to this lake. The rush was unbelievable and he wanted to get out!

Then, he got his eyes to open, not that it helped much since there was nothing but emptiness in the depths. Though when he looked up, he saw that the kitten was still struggling at the surface, and it did not appear like it was able to stay there for long.

Somehow, that got Castiel to act, to try resisting the might of the suction. He expanded his wings and angled them in a style similar to whenever he would go against exceptionally strong wind currents. From there, he used that technique to stop himself from being pulled down. What followed after that involved him beating his wings furiously to fight the suction.

He will not give up. He _will_ be a soldier. He _will_ save that kitten.

Soon enough, Castiel burst out of the center of the lake, lifting the sopping kitten over his head.

Castiel was ready for the trip back to land; this time, he was determined not to be taken advantage of by the suction. He released a great propulsion... only to discover that the suction had mysteriously vanished and he had wasted all of that precious energy for nothing.

Perhaps not 'nothing'. He did manage to make it to land in a much faster pace. Upon getting out of the water, Castiel was thankful that the other three kittens were still in the spot he left them. He sent his quiet gratitude to his Father before allowing all poise to leave him as he clattered to the ground in exhaustion. Castiel heard the calico kitten hiss at him then wriggle out of his hold and join the rest in a pile of fur-balls; he could not be bothered to stop them from doing anything now.

He was wet and tired. He rarely felt tired; he loathed the sense of helplessness that accompanied it. But most of all, he felt infuriated, which was something rarer than the instances of him being tired. Castiel could not understand it; why would the suction disappear _only then_? It would have been a lot easier if he had not been dragged down to immeasurable depths. He would not have made such a fool of himself; he would not have been afraid.

Castiel summoned his recovering Grace and used it to dry himself. He could hear the kittens meowing somewhere beside him, and he remembered with aggravation that his job was not yet done.

"Later," he thought. "Rest first."

Castiel's moment of peace did not last long. Seconds later, he heard a familiar question being addressed to him:

"Why did you save that kitten?"

A flower was there; even without opening his eyes, he just knew it was staring at him.

Castiel was too tired to voice out an answer. Frankly, he did not know what he was doing anymore, what he thought of all this. It was... too complicated now. There was a number of reasons why he had done the deed: to be one step closer to being a soldier, to prepare himself for his Test, to keep the balance in Heaven intact, to implement his duty, to prove that he can do _something_ on his own...

Rest. He wanted to rest now. He will continue searching later.

O_x

The calico kitten disliked him, as shown by its frequent hissing.

Castiel wondered how he was still capable of walking what with all the small burdens he had acquired. The gray kitten was clinging onto his wings as if its very life depended on it. The orange kitten was perched upon his shoulder, meowing (which was extremely grating to Castiel by this time) to its heart's content. The black kitten was trying its best to squirm out of Castiel's hold and it was turning out to be a very wearing task. The calico kitten managed to maneuver itself the farthest region of his right wing, specifically, near the wingtip where the feathers curled.

If his brothers and sisters saw him in such a state, Castiel would never let it go. This was humiliating.

He had been trying to communicate with Joshua, in the hopes of relieving himself of the kittens he had already acquired. However, Joshua remained silent; in fact, Castiel could not even sense his Grace.

He trudged on regardless, and every once in a while he would mentally review himself on his studies. As time passed, Castiel became more distracted and gave up on thinking altogether.

His mind was nonetheless whirring, so much that he almost did not notice the fifth kitten off to the side. Castiel hurried over to it, and he considered it a blessing that the kitten – a black-and-white one – was not as active as the others. When he reached it, he discovered that the stillness was not so much of a blessing anymore: the kitten was lying on the ground, with something that looked like a lanky root wrapped around its neck.

It was being strangled.

Without a second thought, Castiel bent down to untangle the root. As it was removed, he pushed aside the obvious question of "How did the kitten get the root around itself?" and concentrated on making sure the kitten was alright.

Castiel tentatively nudged the kitten, but it did not show any sign of life. He nudged it twice, still nothing. He felt concern slipping into him. Just as he was about to let a bit of his Grace trickle out, the kitten stirred. After a few seconds, it lifted its tiny head and locked its gaze on his. Its eyes were blue, almost as blue Castiel's. He tilted his head at it, as if questioning the kitten how it got into this situation. Ever so slowly, the kitten returned the gesture at him.

"Meow." it said, and it was as if _the kitten _was questioning Castiel.

"Why did you save that kitten?" asked a flower.

Castiel held the black-and-white kitten closer to him to inspect the damage on its neck; it was slightly deep but the kitten will be fine. Then, while being this close, the kitten rubbed its head at the side of Castiel's face, catching him off-guard.

"Why did you save it?" the flower asked again.

"Because, it was... being strangled." replied Castiel slowly. He just prevented the kitten from dying. Because of him, the kitten was not suffering anymore. "It didn't... look right." he added.

The kitten rubbed its head at him again. Castiel found himself smiling a little.

He began searching for the remaining kittens, feeling much lighter for some reason.

O_x

The black-and-white kitten had curled itself into a ball on top of Castiel's head, and for once he did not mind. It was making low rumbling noises above him; he did not know why the kitten was doing that but it was making him calmer.

He needed all the calmness he could acquire. The rest of the kittens were driving him to the breaking point again. The scratches on his wings were more energetic, the meows were officially incessant and the struggles were becoming harder to manage. At least he had _one_ kitten who behaved.

Just two more kittens; just two more kittens and this will be all over.

Castiel used his Grace to scan the perimeter, although his concentration was broken when the orange kitten suddenly came at his face and let out a long, loud meow. Irked, he pushed the kitten back to its usual place, and somehow he got the calico kitten riled up in the process, earning him a hiss and a bite to his wing. Castiel resisted the urge to throw them all off him and focused on finding the other kittens.

He scanned, and he eventually located the sixth kitten. As he made his way to it, the kittens on him - save for the black-and-white one - became agitated, causing their behavior to be one step closer to intolerable for Castiel. Nevertheless, he pushed on, even though now they were actually slowing him down considerably.

Finally, Castiel saw the kitten - a white one - in the distance. The problem, however, was that the white kitten was dangling at the edge of a cliff.

If lives were not depending on him, Castiel would have been in awe at the existence of a cliff in this place, not to mention curious about how deep the chasm went. But right now, he needed to act before that kitten fell to its death.

"Meow! Meow!"

The cliff was extremely narrow at the edge, which meant Castiel had to be careful in his approach. Unfortunately, with all the kittens on him, 'careful' was something hard to achieve. Castiel tentatively made his way to the white kitten, and about halfway there, the gray kitten ran its claws down the most sensitive region of his wings, making him jerk, stumble and nearly fall into the chasm.

"Please stop that." he said.

He moved a few steps forward, but then the gray kitten scratched at the same spot again. As a result, Castiel fell off the narrow strip of earth and just barely managed to grab onto the side of the cliff. He was dangling like the kitten he was trying to save now. His near-plummet into the chasm greatly disturbed the kittens on him, and they all unsheathed their claws to hold on tightly to him. Castiel whimpered for the first time in his creation due to the pain it brought him.

He considered taking flight, but if he unfurled his wings it might cause some of the kittens on him to fall. With effort, Castiel climbed back onto the cliff. The kittens on him were frightened now as they tried to clamber off him. As much as he wanted to get rid of them, he could not risk them accidentally falling into the chasm. He endeavored to keep them on him, earning him rebellious meows, deeper scratches and hisses. This new struggle was enough to put off his balance again.

After what seemed like forever, Castiel scooped up the white kitten and hurried back to more stable ground. Once he was certain it was safe, he fell to his knees and just enjoyed the sense of relief. His moment of security was short-lived; the second he went down, the gray kitten scratched at his back and the calico kitten came extremely close to his face to hiss at him.

Castiel had never been so angry in his life. He had been doing nothing but helping them and this was how they repay him?

A flower bobbed its head at him. "Why did you save - ?"

"Because kittens are so stupid and annoying they can't even take care of themselves!" Castiel snapped.

He doubted the kittens could understand what he was saying, but it was almost as if they got offended because, as one, they jumped off him and quickly ran away. When he realized what had happened, Castiel scrambled to recapture them but it was too late.

They were gone.

Castiel just stood there in a sort of stupor. He had lost them. All his hard work... for nothing. He would have to start _all over again_. At this rate, he would definitely miss his Test, he would never be granted a purpose, he would be a failure to the entire Host...

"Meow."

Castiel suddenly looked up to see that the black-and-white kitten was still perched on his head. Cautiously, he held it in front of him, as if to make sure it was really there with him. The kitten stared at him.

"Why didn't you leave like the others?" Castiel asked.

The black-and-white kitten tilted its head at him and made those rumbling noises again.

Castiel sat down on the ground and looked at his surroundings miserably. "I'm not worthy to be a soldier." he said. He was crying now.

The kitten rubbed itself against him, as if to comfort him.

The tears kept falling and his wings unconsciously curled around himself. "I should just find Joshua, tell him I'm not fit to do this." Castiel went on.

"_Meow_."

Castiel studied the kitten he was holding. "Were they your brothers and sisters?" he found himself asking.

The kitten gave him a steady look. "Meow."

Without meaning to, Castiel petted the kitten and it made the low, rumbling noise once more. He wondered what it was like to be in its place, to be injured and left behind by his siblings with only a stranger for company. He did not like the feeling at all.

"Meow." That sounded almost pleading.

This place was dangerous; this kitten's siblings could be in danger. If they perished, this kitten would be all alone.

Castiel got up, placing the black-and-white kitten on his head again. He wiped his tears away; his search was not over yet.

O_x

Vibrations ran in the Garden, causing debris to fall underground. Castiel dodged the falling rocks as best as he could, all the while keeping the kitten he had safe. Wherever the others were, he needed to be swift in his search; the presence of the kittens in this place was beginning to really take its toll.

"Meow!" the black-and-white kitten cried out in fright.

Castiel held it tighter and used his wings as an added shield to protect it. "It will be alright." he said resolutely.

He was moving fast, enough to evade the rocks and enough not to shock the kitten he was cradling. He can do this. He will find them, this he promised.

After speeding through what was already looking like a structural collapse, Castiel finally saw them - all six of them (gray, orange, black, calico, white plus a brown one) - flocked together and trying so hard to escape the falling rocks. They were quick but Castiel could easily see that they were getting tired and more confused. Soon, they will falter.

Castiel rushed over to them. He kept his gaze trained on the kittens in front of him, but he also paid close attention to where the rocks were falling, in case he had to make a hasty maneuver. He went left, slid right, leaped over a large boulder, darted left again, side-stepped to the right...

And, in a split-second, he saw it: a big rock on its way to squash the oblivious kittens.

He did not think anymore. Castiel extended his wings and took flight. He was fast again, faster than anything else. He instantly erased the distance between them.

Just as the rock was about to brush against the kittens' fur, Castiel dove into the narrow space, grabbed them and sped off. The kittens squirmed in his hold but he absolutely refused to let them go. Right now, finding a safe spot was his priority. Castiel kept flying until he neared the end of where rocks were falling. However, by this time, he was already severely battered by the boulders that even _he _could not avoid. His wings were damaged and his Grace was flaring with pain. He could not shield himself appropriately because he was devoting all of that energy into protecting the kittens.

Finally, Castiel emerged from the downpour of rocks.

His landing was far from perfect, but what was important was that all seven kittens were alright. Slowly, Castiel unfolded himself, both to let the kittens out and because he hardly had the strength to presently do anything. The rocks had hurt very badly, his energy was depleted from the flying and he wanted nothing more than to rest... so much.

Desperately weary, Castiel lied down on the ground and closed his eyes. He did not care if the kittens ran off again; they were safe and that was what mattered. He needed to rest, heal...

A few seconds later, he felt light pressure on several regions of his form. Castiel opened his eyes and discovered that the kittens had curled up all over him: two at his back, three on his wings and two at his front. The black-and-white kitten had placed itself just below Castiel's head and it rubbed at him again.

What caught Castiel's attention the most was that they were all making that low, rumbling sound.

Castiel thought he should take them off him, but he liked the warmth they were giving him. Maybe they were thankful for him after all.

"Why did you save them?" a flower asked.

Castiel gave the kittens all over him a final look. They were resting now, just like him. They were here because of him; he saved their lives. "I didn't want them to get hurt."

He closed his eyes, not bothering to see the flower's reaction. He was tired, and so were the kittens. Castiel offered them safety while they offered him warmth; he could not ask for anything else.

O_x

"Castiel. Castiel, open your eyes."

Castiel did so, only to see Joshua kneeling in front of him. He made a move to get up but Joshua stopped him.

"Stay as you are. I don't want you disturbing your friends." said Joshua.

Around him, he noticed the kittens were very cozy in their places, and still resting. Castiel nodded and returned his gaze on Joshua, who was smiling kindly at him.

"What's going on?" Castiel asked.

"I'm here to tell you that... Great job, Castiel. You've passed your Test!" said Joshua.

Castiel stared at Joshua, bewildered. "But... I haven't taken my Test yet." he replied.

Leaning back, Joshua said, "I have a very large confession to make: these kittens weren't brought here by other angels, I did. And I'm also the one in charge of giving you your Test, which is to collect the kittens."

If there were not kittens on him, Castiel would be standing up by now. _Joshua _put the kittens here? "This doesn't make sense." he said.

"What you've been doing here - all this time - is your Test. And you've done it well."

Castiel tried to comprehend Joshua's words. This was his _Test_? "This can't be my Test. Tests are supposed to be..."

"Challenging, a learning experience and a noble feat once you've accomplished it?" supplied Joshua. "Tell me, is your task here not any of those?"

Castiel thought about it, glancing at the kittens. Yes, his time here had been all of those. "Why did you lie to me earlier?" he inquired.

"I'm sorry about that. But, as with every Test, they're unannounced. That's how you truly know if a fledgling is ready." said Joshua.

A sense of frustration crept up Castiel as he nodded. "Then you weren't just passing by the Library,"

"Afraid not." said Joshua, sitting down.

Castiel shifted slightly. "So my Test was... to collect kittens?" He wondered what kind of life awaited him if this was his Test.

"Half your Test. The other half is to see if you can learn a lesson." said Joshua.

"What lesson?" asked Castiel, tensing.

Joshua smiled. "To value life. You may have noticed some flowers asking you questions. They're asking you what you've learned, what you consider important. You had seven chances to grasp the value of life, and in the end you've succeeded." he said. He leaned in closer and his expression became serious. "This is a very important lesson, Castiel. I don't know what the future holds for you, and I'm only following orders, but if Tests are preparations for what's to come... I can only conclude that something big is in store for you. Life shouldn't be taken for granted. You may have to work hard but preserving life is worth it."

Something big in store? _Him_? "Why kittens though?" Castiel asked instead.

A chuckle broke Joshua's earnestness. "You have to start somewhere." he replied.

The black-and-white kitten squirmed and made the low noise again.

"It's purring. That means it likes you." said Joshua.

"Really?" Castiel felt a smile forming. Then, he remembered something. "Do we have to take them back?"

"Yes, we must." said Joshua.

If Castiel was standing, his wings would be dropping now.

"But we can always do it later." added Joshua, as if detecting his grief. He stood up and blessed Castiel's Grace. "Once again, I'm proud to say that you passed your Test. Congratulations."

Castiel smiled and went back to resting. The sound of Joshua's wings were muffled by the purrs of seven kittens.

* * *

_Thank you guys so much for the reviews, alerts and faves! They make writing all the more awesome!_

_And now... the hint for the next character! Here's the hint: in the show, this angel is already dead._

_Now please review! :)_


	7. A Glimpse at Humanity Through Annael

_Newborn life replacing all of us, changing this fable we live in  
No longer needed here so where do we go?  
Will you take a journey tonight, follow me past the walls of death?  
But girl, what if there is no eternal life? _

_._

_Seize the Day – Avenged Sevenfold_

_

* * *

_

Castiel did not know what was going on anymore. One moment, he was coming down to rest his wings; then the next, three of his older sisters grabbed him from behind and took him to a field of flowers. Castiel had many, many siblings, and there were still a few he had not actually met yet; this was the first time he met Shekinah, Sofiel and Afriel.

And on their first meeting, his sisters were doing... strange things to him:

Afriel kept throwing him in the air and catching him. If she was not doing that, she would hold him and make both of them spin around in a little circle; he just let himself be pulled along even though he failed to see the point of spinning around and around in a circle. Sofiel would sprinkle flower petals on him whenever he fell down, which was mostly because the spinning had gotten too much for him. And sometimes, Sofiel would put flowers on his head and adorn his wings with them. Meanwhile, Shekinah was obsessed with embracing him – or as she called it, 'cuddling' – and 'fluffing up his wings'.

In addition, they talked in an odd, enthusiastic tone, and they always seemed to talk about the same subject:

"_He's so cute!_"

"I know! He's so small and precious!"

"Oh, Sofiel! Put more flowers on him! He's such a delightful creation."

"Look at him, Shekinah! _Look!_ He's staring at us! Oh, his eyes are just..."

"He really is a little brother, isn't he?"

"His wings are still so soft! How is it that we only met him now?"

"Let me carry him! I want to cradle him next to my Grace!"

For a while, his sisters just pulled him from one activity to another. Eventually, Castiel became tired of being in their presence, if not a tad embarrassed. So when his sisters turned to a patch of flowers, Castiel took that opportunity to escape. A while passed and from afar, he heard his sisters' alarm at his sudden disappearance; he flew faster and tried to find a place to hide.

He found a niche and went in, making himself as small as possible (which, to his slight frustration, was not something he had to work hard for). Later, Castiel sensed his sisters flying toward his hiding spot and he dimmed the light of his Grace. When they simply sped past him, relief made his posture lax; it was not until sometime passed before he emerged from his niche.

They were gone. However, now, Castiel realized that he had apparently placed himself in a remote spot of Heaven, one that he had not seen until this moment. Just as he was wondering just exactly where he was, he felt a tap on his back.

Anxiety rising within him, Castiel turned and expected that Sofiel and the others had found him. His suspicions were proven wrong when he was met with another of his sisters. Like with the previous three, this was the first time he met her, albeit her age was practically the same as his. A quick inspection of her Grace told him that her name was Annael. She was smiling at him, and for some reason she had a hand raised and was swaying it to and fro.

"Hi!" she said.

Castiel stared at her, then at her still swaying hand with bewilderment. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Waving of course. I'm greeting you." said Annael, putting her hand down. She stepped forward and her hand took Castiel's. "If you want, I could give you a much formal greeting."

Before Castiel could think of a response, Annael was making their joined hands go up and down. "The humans call this a handshake, I believe." she informed. She then looked up to face him directly. "Hello, my name is Annael." she said cheerfully.

Castiel regarded the... 'handshake' in utter bafflement. "Why do you need to say your name? Angels don't need introductions with one another." he said.

"I know, but we really should. It's a nice custom." said Annael.

It was not until a few moments that Castiel realized that Annael was still performing the 'handshake' with him.

"H-Hello. I'm Castiel." he said a bit uncertainly.

His sister beamed at him and she finally stopped the handshake. "Pleased to meet you. Would you like to play a game, brother?" Annael inquired.

Castiel was surprised by her words and took a step back. "We don't play games, Annael." he said.

At that, her expression became discerning. "Why not? How come mortals get all the fun? And call me Anna." she added.

"'A-Anna'?" Castiel could not believe what he was hearing. Why would someone blight the name their Father had given them? For him, it bordered on blasphemy.

"It's a nickname I decided to give myself. It's definitely easier to say than my whole name." she replied happily.

"But... why?" Castiel asked.

"Because I want to." said Annael – _Anna_, smiling. "Would you like a nickname as well? Maybe... 'Cas'?"

Castiel retreated a little as if his sister drew a blade at him. '_Cas_'? He could not imagine – _ever_ – having someone call him that and him being fine with it. Anna can cut her name if she wanted, but not his!

"It's alright if you don't want to be called that. I'll call you by your nickname when you're ready." said Anna, and while it was not much, it at least gave Castiel a sense of comfort. She approached him and laid her hand next to his Grace. "Nicknames aren't that bad. Just because you change your name a bit doesn't mean you would lose a part of yourself or make our Father angry. Humans do it all the time with their names." she added.

Humans also sinned, but Castiel did not voice it out.

Then, Anna lightly bumped him, which caused him to briefly lose his balance. "Let's play tag!" she proclaimed.

"What's tag?" Castiel asked.

"It's a game. The person who's 'It' has to chase the other person and touch them, so then _that person _will be "It" and _they'll _do the chasing." Anna explained.

Castiel tried to take it all in. Why would people chase each other endlessly like that? It seemed pointless and a waste of energy.

"Who's 'It'?" he inquired slowly anyway.

Anna bumped him again. "Tag! You're 'It'!" She flew off.

For a second, Castiel just watched her go. This was wrong. Angels – especially soldiers-in-training like him – should not play games and have nicknames. Those were all far too human aspects, and the last thing he should do was stoop down to their level. He was an angel, he had obligations... and he was also intensely curious.

Castiel took off after Anna.

He caught up to her relatively soon. When Anna sensed his presence, she glanced at him, let out a giggle and put forth a new burst of speed. Castiel found himself challenged and did likewise. They flew in a straight line that was no more than a blur; as Castiel became close enough to Anna to reach her, Anna suddenly veered off to the right and Castiel was left grasping empty air.

"You will have to do better than that!" laughed Anna as she sped on.

Castiel quickly changed his direction and pursued her once again. He will catch her the next time, he was determined of it. As the chase continued, Castiel got better at making sharp turns, which became more frequent now that Anna knew he was getting used to the game; he did not mind the challenge, he was actually finding joy in it. However, when he thought that, this time, he would get Anna, all of a sudden she went straight up. Castiel was already going too fast to make the necessary change and crashed into a tree with pink and yellow flowers.

A while passed and all that filled Castiel's vision were twigs and flowers. When he finally wrestled his head out of the tree, he saw Anna floating in front of him, laughing.

"You look silly, Castiel." she giggled.

Glancing at himself, Castiel learned that his whole form was, yet again, covered in flowers, though here, the embarrassment flaring within him was much greater. He flapped his wings once in both frustration and preparation for flight; Anna got the hint and gave chase once more.

Castiel, instead of going straight after her, decided to take on a different approach: he would circle and cut her off. It was risky and would cost him a lot of energy, but if it worked it would be worth it. He just hoped the training he had would be enough.

The good news was that, after flying for a long time, he was directly in Anna's path. The bad news was that he miscalculated his aim slightly and crashed right into her; they fell to the ground in a tangle of light and feathers.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." said Castiel as he got off her.

Other angels would have been furious at him for such an act. He was a soldier after all; soldiers do not 'misaim' or 'crash into one another'. However, to his surprise, Anna was not even angry. In fact, she was laughing.

"I suppose this makes me 'It'." Anna chuckled as she got up.

Castiel just stared at her like she suddenly lost her wings.

This caused Anna to let out a laugh. "We're still playing the game, brother." she said.

"Oh."

About a minute passed before Anna broke the stillness. "I'm 'It' now. You're supposed to be fleeing and I'm going to chase you." she clarified.

Castiel looked around them as if to make sure that he was allowed to fly. "You mean... right now?" he asked.

"Yes, right now. You're already disrupting the game." said Anna.

Castiel's wings quivered and lowered themselves around him. This was bad; he felt like he was acting poorly on what a superior had instructed him to do.

"It's alright, I don't blame you." stated Anna, sensing his dread. "This is your first time. I won't hold anything against you."

Relief flowed through Castiel's Grace; were it anyone else, they would be severely displeased with him for not knowing what to do. After a final, careful look at his sister, Castiel took flight with a hint of uncertainty. He was flying fast, but not fast enough for his liking, especially if someone was pursuing him. Was he doing this right? Did he have to reach a certain distance before he could make a turn?

He was starting to reconsider 'playing tag' when Anna spoke up, "Relax, Castiel! Just keep flying in any manner you like! Try to shake me off your trail!"

Castiel nodded and dramatically sped up, doing as many complicated maneuvers he could.

"That's good, that's good! Don't let me catch you!" said Anna, her voice edged with laughter.

The game went on longer than when Castiel had chased Anna. He did not know why Anna had not caught him yet; either she was _allowing_ him to get away or he was truly swifter than her, but either way, he found himself... enjoying this. He never realized he could find happiness outside his obligations.

Anna was beginning to catch up to him and somehow he found himself feeling exhilarated. When Anna made a move to touch him, he flew even faster, just barely escaping her grasp. He let out a triumphant chuckle and, behind him, Anna laughed along. He was actually having, what was termed as, fun. He had never felt so light before, like he did not have any duties to be –

_**Castiel!**_

Castiel stopped immediately at the sound of Zachariah contacting him. He felt Anna bump into him a moment but his focus was locked on his superior, whether he wanted it to or not.

_**Castiel, I want you at my location _now. _You have a training exercise waiting; your absence is hindering the rest of the class from commencing.**_

Even though he was not within Zachariah's presence, Castiel bowed his head in shame and humility as he slowly lowered himself onto the ground. For the first time, he did not want to go; he wanted to stay here a little longer. But such thoughts were linked to disobedience and he had no intention to defy a direct order. He no longer felt light.

"Anna, I must – " Castiel turned around but she was not there anymore.

"Anna? Anna!" She did not come. For some reason, his wings drooped a bit at that, although he expected this much of an outcome. Anna must have heard Zachariah as well and decided to leave him now, not wanting to face Zachariah's wrath either.

Nonetheless, Castiel wished she had not just disappeared like that and –

Suddenly, someone tackled him to the ground. He later saw that it was Anna when he got himself onto his back, and before he could ask what she was trying to do, she put her hands on his sides and started doing... something peculiar to him, something that caused him to burst out in uncontrolled laughter.

"A-Anna, wh-what...?" He could not get himself to talk adequately; he was too occupied squealing with mirth. Anna moved her hands all over him and the odd sensation intensified, bringing more laughter out of him. Castiel did his best to squirm out of his sister's hold but he could not get himself coordinated enough.

When Anna reached the underside of his wings, the sensation peaked and Castiel released the loudest giggle he had ever heard in his creation. Hopefully, they were the only angels to hear that.

"_Anna_! Please... s-st-op!" Castiel said in between guffaws. He doubted there was a spot on him that Anna had not yet breached. He had no idea exactly how much time passed before Anna stopped doing... whatever she had been doing to him and rolled off him.

His wings were extremely ruffled, and Castiel had to take a moment to get his bearings before he could ask, "Sister, what _was_ that?"

Anna was lying beside him with a smile on her face, looking as tired as Castiel felt. "A tickle fight, and I must say you really didn't fight back that much." she replied.

"'Tickle'?" Castiel rarely heard that word, and throughout those few times the term was related to humans.

"We feel just as much physical sensations as mortals do, it simply takes... more effort from us." said Anna, doing what humans called a shrug.

Feel.

Castiel quickly sat up and moved away from her. "We don't feel. We're not supposed to feel. We're angels." he said, trying to follow the teachings of his superiors.

Watching him seriously, Anna got up as well. "What's wrong with feeling? Without that, we're just empty shells doing what everyone tells us to do. Being able to feel means that we're alive, that we can make our own decisions." she answered. She smiled and leaned in closer to him. "Didn't you like playing tag, didn't you like being happy?"

Castiel thought about it and, yes, he did like it. He gave a nod.

"Good. And if you're still wondering, that tickle fight was to chase away the anxiety you encountered when your superior contacted you. You feel better, don't you?" Anna asked as she rose to her full height.

The apprehension was still inside him, but Castiel discovered that, indeed, it was not as much as before.

"You should go; I don't want to keep you from your training." said Anna.

Castiel nodded courteously like he would do at any dismissal and started making his way to Zachariah. Though, a couple of seconds later, a thought entered his mind and caused him to turn around.

"Good... Goodbye, Anna." he said. He slowly raised his hand and waved at her.

To see him doing the action made Anna smile very brightly. "Bye, Castiel!" she replied, waving back at him with much more enthusiasm. "It was really nice finally meeting you! Come back sometime if you want!" she yelled.

As Castiel took off, he smiled and found himself considering her offer. All of a sudden, there was more to his life than merely being a soldier.

TBC

_

* * *

_

_GAAAH! I finally got around to posting this! So sorry this took a while, but I'm in the middle of redoing my thesis and I'm going to defend it again soon so... yeah. Prayers and/or good luck wishes would be very much appreciated. I can't afford to screw it up again X_X_

_Thanks for all the support you're giving to this fic! And for being patient :D_

_Shekinah__ – angel of unity and unconditional love_

_Afriel__ – angel of youth_

_Sofiel__ – angel of nature_


	8. 2

_You're the only one I turn to_

_When I feel like no one's there_

_And when I'm lonely in my darkest hour_

_You give me the power_

_To sit and pretend _

_._

_Damn Regret – The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_

_

* * *

_"Anna? Sister?"

Castiel was certain this was where he previously left her. He had been scouting the perimeters for some time already, hoping to locate Anna. The real reason why he was searching for her in the first place still eluded him, but somehow it felt right for him to do this.

It was also a bonus that Zachariah gave them more and more early leaves nowadays since – as Castiel had overheard from his other siblings – his superior was having 'leadership problems'. He could not be sure, but from what he had gathered there was another angel who was trying to take Zachariah's position. Zachariah, of course, will be very reluctant to surrender his reign of command, but it appeared as though the other angel – whoever they may be – was proving to be a real challenge.

"Anna?" He could not call very far or extend the signature of his Grace too much lest that someone found him and asked why he was not training or studying. He really _should_ be doing all those things now but… his interests seemed to be shifting.

A moment later, Castiel felt something light touch his head. He glanced up to see that he had a crown of flowers on top of him. And tilting his head a little further up, he also saw Anna hovering above him somewhat upside-down.

"Hi, Castiel!" she greeted brightly.

"Hello, Anna." Castiel returned. He righted the position of his head as Anna went right-side-up and positioned herself on the ground in front of him. Castiel spared a glance at the flowers on top of him again. "What's this for?"

"My present to you." replied Anna with a smile.

Castiel's head cocked to the side. "Why?"

"Just 'cuz. And I got the flowers from the tree you crashed into last time." she said playfully.

Wings ruffling slightly, Castiel fought down the embarrassment flaring within him. Without even thinking, he made a move to take the crown off him.

"Don't remove it! I want you to wear that for the rest of your time here." Anna ordered.

"But – " he began.

"No, I want you to keep it on. You look good with it."

Maybe it was because Castiel was used to obeying orders, maybe it was because Anna was a hundred and eight years older than him so that practically made her a superior. Either way, Castiel lowered his arm and left his flowery crown alone.

She smiled at him and pulled him closer to her. "Look at what the humans just invented, brother." she whispered excitedly, as if this was a very valuable secret. She produced a tiny wooden container and held it out to him.

Castiel stared at it and studied its every angle. "What is it?" he asked.

Anna twisted its top open, and to Castiel's surprise there was a sort of stick attached to it. Except that it was not really a stick; there was a thin, hollowed circle at the end of it, and the inside of the circle was shimmering with colors. He then peered into the wooden container and saw that it was filled with a sweet smelling liquid.

Before he could ask his question again, Anna raised the circle to her mouth and blew on it. What came out made Castiel's eyes widen in amazement.

"Sister… what are these things?" he asked in awe. There were so many of them floating around he did not know which direction to turn to. He was so captivated he almost did not hear Anna answer.

"They're bubbles, Castiel."

Bubbles. Castiel decided he liked bubbles, he liked them very much. One bubble floated near him and he cupped it in his hands. "They're so pretty." he said.

Just as he closed in around the bubble, it suddenly vanished and Castiel let out a cry of shock. Did he break it? He did not mean to break it! Was Anna mad at him for breaking it?

When Castiel turned to Anna to apologize, she let out a laugh. "It's alright. Bubbles pop, that's what they do. You didn't do anything wrong." she assured.

As if to prove her point, three bubbles wandered in front of Castiel and they all 'popped'. All around them, he noticed that all of the bubbles were going away.

"I don't want them to pop." whined Castiel.

"They have to disappear some time. Otherwise, there won't be any room for new bubbles." she said.

As the last bubble popped, Anna dipped the stick into the container again, blew, and made more bubbles come out. Castiel found himself happy again. He watched the bubbles float everywhere but this time he was careful not to touch them.

"Do you want to try?" asked Anna, offering him the stick and container.

At first, Castiel was unsure. What if he failed to do it right? What if he cannot make bubbles?

"Just dip the stick and blow. It's easy, Castiel; I know you can do this." said Anna encouragingly.

He eventually took the items from her and did as he was told. To his wonder, bubbles came out of the circle, just as many as the ones Anna had made. They floated normally and glistened in the light of Heaven just as Anna's had done. He was so thrilled by it that, for once, he lost control of himself and he let out a gleeful laugh.

"Are you thankful that the humans made this?" asked Anna.

"Yes." he said. It was all he could say before he blew more bubbles. Yes, he was indeed very thankful; the discovery of the bubbles made him so excited that he could not wait to make more. Soon, the space around them was filled with bubbles of different sizes and he thought that he had never seen Heaven more beautiful.

"Come, brother. I'll show you something just as good as the bubbles." said Anna, placing a hand on him and lightly pulling.

Castiel did not want to go. He just wanted to stay here and fill the whole of Heaven with bubbles.

"Castiel," started Anna.

His wings slumping in defeat, Castiel returned the stick into the container and gave it back to his sister. "Alright." he whimpered.

Anna chuckled and tousled his wings. "Don't worry. I promise it will be nice." she said.

He lowered his head slightly in submission as Anna took them elsewhere. She took them to another place Castiel had not been to before. It was a small, secluded corner painted in cool shades of twilight; it looked like it could barely contain more than one angel but he and Anna managed to fit. There was a hole on the ground; Castiel tried to avoid it but Anna pulled him forward and made them settle around it.

"This is my secret place, so don't tell anyone about this." Anna whispered. She leaned closer to the hole. "You see this? I made it myself." she added proudly.

"Why? Anyone can make a hole." said Castiel.

"It's special. It goes down deeper than you think." said Anna. "Take a look for yourself!"

As instructed, Castiel peered over the hole. At first there was nothing but mist, then it began to clear and clouds started to appear below behind the blue of a sky. And even further down, Castiel could make out the greenish-brown expanse he just knew had to be Earth.

He retreated from the hole a bit. "Anna... you dug a hole that leads to Earth?" he asked incredulously.

Anna smiled brightly. "I told you it's special." she said.

"But... this should be impossible." remarked Castiel.

"And yet here it is." said Anna. "I can study humans much better with this, and it's definitely easier to keep up with their progress."

Castiel looked over at the hole again. It was undeniably a direct connection to Earth; this was so surreal.

Then a thought struck him. "Are we going to Earth?" he inquired nervously.

"No. As much as I want to, only your superiors can give you permission to do that." Anna replied with something like sadness, albeit she brightened again soon after. "Today, we'll start small. We'll focus on something closer." she said.

"Something closer?" Castiel repeated.

Anna did not respond, she simply stared off into the hole and kept the silence going for a while. Castiel looked around where they were, wondering if he was supposed to be doing something.

"Look!" Anna suddenly exclaimed, making Castiel's wings go up in surprise. "Look, brother; there's a dog chasing a fish!"

She was pointing at the hole excitedly and Castiel decided to peer into it as well. He searched and searched but he could not find any dogs or fishes at all. He checked again, more warily this time, and even extended his gaze to as far down as Earth, but he still could not find anything.

"And over there! A butterfly! And it's bigger than _you_, brother." giggled Anna, pointing to another direction.

Castiel hurriedly followed where his sister was pointing (while trying to control the embarrassment of a butterfly being bigger than him) in the hope of actually seeing it. Yet like the first time, he failed to find it. Was there really that big of a butterfly? How come he cannot see anything? What was Anna talking about?

"There's a circle of flowers, just like the one you're wearing! Isn't that amazing?" she went on. "Oh and there's a dolphin pulling a wagon along! And a kangaroo standing on a tower! I think it's watching over that banana that's been peeled open."

No matter how hard he tried, he cannot find a single one of the things Anna was talking about. Was there some damage to his eyes?

"Anna, I can't see anything. Is there something wrong with me?" Castiel asked slowly, fearfully.

Anna touched his head and gave him a patient smile. "Nothing's wrong with you. You're just not looking right. Try looking more carefully, but don't overdo your search." she advised.

With uncertainty, Castiel leaned over the hole once more.

"I see a monkey hanging on a branch, brother. Try finding where it is." said Anna.

Monkey on a branch. Monkey on a branch. He did not really understand Anna' suggestion but he scanned the area below anyway. After some time, his scan was completed but he still could not find the monkey. He wanted to look up at Anna and stop his search when she seemed to have sensed his defeat.

"Keep looking. Don't give up."

Reluctantly, he obeyed, not so much that he wanted to but because he was ordered to. He scrutinized the grounds of Earth, but he still could not find anything. He was getting tired; he let his eyes rest by staring at one of the clouds for a while... a cloud that strangely resembled the shape of –

"I found the monkey!" Castiel proclaimed.

"Where is it then?" Anna asked good-naturedly.

"There!" Castiel excitedly pointed at the cloud. He felt proud; he did not care if this was discouraged in Heaven, he found it!

"That's right, that's the monkey. I'm so glad you found it." congratulated Anna, settling beside him.

This was amazing. He never knew clouds could take on fantastic shapes. As he continued to stare at them, all of a sudden it was like a veil was lifted and he can now see all the things Anna had seen earlier.

Anna snuggled into him. "Now, what else can you see?" she asked.

What else? He could see a lot of things now, he could see _everything_! "There's... a turtle, on a hill. A man... a man making a really big jump. And an octopus writing in Enochian!"

His sister chuckled. "Do you know what you're doing, brother?" she fondly whispered close to his head.

Castiel tore his gaze away from the hole. "What?" he replied.

"You're using your imagination." she answered.

"My imagination?"

"Uh-huh. It's sort of when you give things a new perspective, beyond what you normally see, hear or feel. If you believe in it, then it becomes real. You only experience what you _let_ yourself experience, and for the most part it's fun." said Anna. She straightened up and Castiel noticed her expression turning somber. "Although humans do it all the time, there are hardly any of _us_ who use their imagination. Most of the angels just focus on things directly or too deeply. They're too grounded, too analytical; they totally miss out on the possibilities." she stated, staring off into the distance.

Castiel studied his sister closely as he absorbed her words. He could tell that she was bothered by that reality. "Can we... use our imagination again?" he asked.

At that, Anna looked at him warmly. "Of course." She got up and moved away from him a bit. "Let's try something different now, okay?"

"O...kay," Castiel returned, rising as well. He would have liked finding shapes in the clouds again but he trusted Anna; whatever she was planning next was worth trying.

Suddenly, Anna crouched down and let out a huge roar, greatly startling Castiel.

"Anna?" he worriedly ventured.

She did not say anything, just made a low, menacing rumble as the cherry-red light of her form took on an orange glow. Castiel stared at that change in disbelief; angels cannot alter the essence of their light... can they?

Anna roared again, albeit less loudly this time, and approached Castiel while still being crouched down. Castiel retreated a little, unsure of what was happening.

"Can you guess what I am, brother?" she asked. Her voice sounded rougher, like she had become part-beast, but her smile was still affable, although a bit more feral.

And just like that, Castiel caught on. "You're a tiger." he said, now feeling amused.

Anna produced a thunderous roar, as if in triumph. "Very good; you're learning fast." she growled. She began to circle him. "This tiger is getting lonely though. She wants a friend to play with, an animal just like her. Do you know any animal who wants to play?"

As Anna slinked away from him, Castiel spared a glance at their surroundings to ensure no one was watching. When he was certain, he gradually crouched down as well.

Anna turned from where she had been prowling. "And what might you be?" she inquired gruffly.

"I'm a frog."

The tips of Anna's wings started to swish around like a tail behind her as she went over to him. "You don't seem to be a frog." she commented.

"I _am_ a frog!" defended Castiel.

"Prove it." said Anna.

Prove it? How? He _was_ a frog; how can he make her believe him? Castiel immersed himself in deep thought... What did frogs do?

Realization coming in, Castiel made a timid little hop to Anna. Anna's expression remained impassive, but she distanced herself a bit from him. Had his performance been unsatisfactory? Castiel made a bigger hop to reach her. Anna moved away again, but not before Castiel caught a glimpse of a smile on her. Castiel tucked his wings firmly behind him and hopped again. Anna's wings swished in an imitation of a tail as she started a brisk walk; Castiel hopped after her.

Anna let out a gleeful roar before going faster, as if inviting him to a race. Before Castiel could stop himself, he voiced out his agreement in the form of an authentic frog-croak.

They raced. Their speed matched each other's and Castiel wondered for a moment if there would be a winner to this. But then it would not matter; he was happy just hopping alongside his prowling sister.

"Look at yourself." said Anna, her voice still sounding like a tiger.

Castiel did, and to his amazement he discovered that his once sky-blue light had transformed into a lush green radiance.

"Now, you _truly_ believe that you're a frog." she roared cheerfully.

That pleased Castiel, so much that he let out another croak. Then, without even thinking, he hopped onto his sister's back and nestled himself between her wings.

"That's cheating!" exclaimed Anna, but there was no anger in her tone.

"Are you going to do anything about it?" Castiel laughed. This was wrong; he had _never_ challenged anyone older than him before. But that was simply it: he never did it _before._

"You asked for it!"

Without warning, Anna went vertical and Castiel was unable to stop himself from falling off her. They were currently by a hill and the sheer force sent him rolling down its side. Amidst the tumble, he heard Anna call his name, followed by the sound of wings quickly unfolding. However, before she could reach him, Castiel had already made it to the bottom.

"Castiel? I'm so sorry for doing that, brother. Are you alright?" she frantically asked, pulling him up to her.

Castiel noticed that her light was not orange anymore, but a pale red; he could also feel a tremendous amount of concern spilling from her Grace. Castiel looked at himself as well and saw that his green light was once again blue.

"I'm fine." he said, then added, "I discovered I like rolling down the hill."

Anna's wings relaxed behind her as she settled him on her. "I'm still sorry. You could've been hurt." she said.

Head tilting to the side, Castiel studied her with confusion. So what if he was hurt? He can always heal himself.

"Can we do something else?" he asked eagerly.

Anna did not answer immediately. "No, not right now. Maybe some other time, okay?"

Castiel did not even get the chance to reply when Anna took him off her and placed him on the grass. He stared at her in bewilderment, and even more so when she started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" he asked, making a move to follow her.

"I just remembered I have an important matter to attend to." she answered. After a while, she noticed that Castiel was still on her trail. "It's a private matter; please don't follow me."

That provoked something – a feeling – in him; he did not know how to define it but it was unpleasant and he did not like it.

Anna seemed to pick up on whatever it was because she knelt down to his level. "I promise we can still play, just not right now." she said, caressing his head and offering him a smile. "I really do need to be somewhere; in fact, I should've been there a long time ago already."

Castiel suddenly felt ashamed. Had he been keeping her from her 'important matter'?

Anna got up. She was about to leave when something stopped her. "How do you view humans, Castiel?" she asked.

That was a rather... arbitrary question. "They're our Father's creations. We are to give them love and protection." he recited, which was the automatic answer in his training and studies. But after everything he discovered from their activities...

"They're interesting beings, and we mostly take them for granted. We think we know everything there is to know, but the humans will always surprise us. They have a lot of things to offer, to teach us." he answered sincerely.

Since their creation, he had always been curious about them, and until now he wanted to know more about them. Humans were different from angels, he knew that, but they were also similar in some great ways. Uriel constantly referred to them as 'mud monkeys,' and although Castiel kept it to himself, he always disagreed with him at that.

Anna's smile this time was small, but soft and full of something he could not really comprehend. "That's all I needed to hear." she said. "Take care of yourself now. I look forward to the next time we meet."

She left.

Castiel remained where he was for a while. It was only later he realized that he still had the crown of flowers on his head. He could remove it now since Anna was no longer here.

He kept it on anyway as he flew off.

TBC

* * *

_I _was _aiming for a game of pirates and ninjas for their little make-believe thing, then I realized that none of those existed yet (at least simultaneously), considering how young Cas and Anna gotta be here. Anyway, I enjoyed pretend-frog!Cas XD_

_Again, thank you guys for reading, faving, reviewing, everything! :D_


	9. 3

_You used to talk to me like_

_I was the only one around._

_You used to lean on me like_

_The only other choice was falling down._

_You used to walk with me like_

_We had nowhere we needed to go,_

_Nice and slow, to no place in particular._

_._

_I used to reach for you when_

_I got lost along the way._

_I used to listen._

_You always had just the right thing to say._

_I used to follow you._

_Never really cared where we would go,_

_Fast or slow, to anywhere at all._

_._

_Used to – Daughtry_

* * *

Castiel did not care who saw him, he just wanted to find Anna.

"Anna? _Anna_? _Anna_!"

He kept flying, no longer conscious of direction or speed. He kept flying until his wings gave out and he plunged into a meadow of dandelions. The white seeds exploded all around him, and he wished they kept on falling until Heaven could not see him anymore. Anna, where was she? Where was his sister? He needed her; he did not want to be alone right now.

"_Anna_?"

Castiel was crying now, tears in the form of light spilling from his eyes. He should not cry, he was not supposed to cry, none of them were. Crying meant he was _feeling_, and feeling meant that he would fail as an angel, which would just affirm what the others had said. He should not give into emotions, yet he wanted nothing except to submit to them. He was to be a soldier; he should be in control, unconquerable –

…he was so scared, so humiliated, so confused, so demoralized, he felt so much and – Anna, Anna, Anna, Anna…!

"Shhh. Hush, Castiel. Hush, brother. I'm here now; I'm here. Shh, it's alright. I won't leave you."

Gradually, Castiel became aware of Anna's presence enclosing him. He later gathered that he was trembling, and that where his tears had hit the ground, cornflowers – the same blue as his eyes – sprung up in their wake. He did not care, he just buried himself into Anna's essence and clung to her as more light trickled from him.

Anna ran a hand soothingly along his back and placed her head on top of his. "It's okay, it's okay. Shhh… Just let it all out." she cooed.

Let what out? Castiel did not understand but he just held onto her tighter and hoped that he was not being told to really do anything.

"Would you like to tell me what happened?" Anna asked softly.

Castiel stiffened and the light spilling from him became thicker and hurt more.

"Shh, it's alright if you don't want to say anything. Right now, you're safe. Nothing and no one can harm you while I'm here." comforted Anna. She shifted in her place, and for a moment, Castiel feared that she was going to leave him. Instead, it was the opposite.

Anna began wrapping herself around him, Grace, light, wings... but what surprised him the most were her arms going around his form and pulling both of them closer together, more than her wings and Grace ever could. It was strange, it was such a... physical thing to do. Angels did not do this thing to each other much, this act of touching. It was labelled as a human habit; angels had their Grace to make contact with one another, and for a long time, Castiel had believed that it was enough to sustain their bonds.

Now, however, he was starting to understand why humans did it so often. He also wondered why it could not be the same for angels.

"Castiel," Anna began softly, holding him tighter. "Do you know what this is called, what we're doing?"

He knew this, he knew the term, but vaguely. Castiel lifted his head to look at Anna. "An embrace?" he tried.

Anna gently smiled and dusted the dandelion seeds off his head. "Yes, but it's such a heavy word, at least to me anyway. The humans call this a hug, which is like an embrace except without all the weight surrounding it." she replied.

Castiel sensed the flow of his tears discontinue as he absorbed this new term. Hug.

"Why do humans hug?" he asked diffidently.

"They do it for a lot of reasons. They hug because they want to cheer up someone who's sad, or they hug to make themselves even happier. And sometimes they do it because they really love someone and they want to let that person know how much they matter to them." Anna explained, running her fingers through his wings in a calming manner.

Hearing those words, Castiel tilted his head. "Am I loved, sister?" he asked.

Anna stared straight into his eyes and playfully rubbed the top of his head. "Of course! You're my brother! And besides, who could possibly not love you?" she laughed, though she was genuine with her words.

He knew that Heaven was built on the foundations of their Father's love, and as a family, he knew that a connection with his brothers and sisters could not exist without love, but it was actually nice to hear it. Most of all, it was nice to hear it directly at him.

Then, Anna leaned forward and tenderly placed her mouth on the side of Castiel's face.

"What was that?" he inquired bemusedly.

"That's a kiss." answered Anna brightly.

"A... kiss?"

"Uh-huh. It's another thing the humans do. But they don't do it to just anybody; they only do it to the ones who are the most special to them, someone they're really close to and really love." She started dusting the rest of the dandelion seeds off him as Castiel just stared at her with wide eyes. "I love you, alright, brother? So whenever you have a bad day, just come to me and we'll make it better, okay?" she said sweetly, kissing him again on the top of his head.

Castiel nestled into Anna's light and he had never felt safer in his existence. He wished all of his siblings displayed as much as affection to one another. Before he was aware of it, he opened his mouth and muttered, "Some of the angels in my garrison ridiculed me during practice."

The red light of Anna's Grace flared, almost threateningly. "_They_ _did_?" she remarked tautly.

Castiel went on, no longer so heavily burdened somehow. "They called me a freak because I showed far too much interest in humanity and their ways. They said I was defiling the title of an angel because I'm stooping down to the humans' level. After that, they called me weak and a traitor, then knocked me down and broke my practice-blade in front of me." he recalled.

Anna's light brightened considerably, the warmth of her aura suddenly becoming boiling hot before cooling off a while later. "They have no right to do that." she said quietly, but Castiel did not miss the frightening edge to it. She then turned to him. "Give me their names, Castiel. I'll teach them a lesson."

He recognized that tone; that was the tone Zachariah used when he was about to punish somebody, and no one wanted to deal with his punishments. "Anna, no, please. Don't hurt them." said Castiel.

"Brother, they mocked and hurt you. They deserve something just in return." Anna pointed out, getting up.

Castiel helplessly plopped onto the ground but held onto the tips of Anna's wings just as she was about to leave. "Please, Anna; don't hurt them. They're simply confused; they don't know all the good things humans do." he tried to reason. "And they're my brothers – _our _brothers. I love them too and I'm tired of seeing our family get hurt all the time."

Anna stared at him for a long time, until eventually her posture relaxed. "Okay. You're right. But I still would like to talk to them some time, and that includes convincing them to forge you a new practice-blade. What they did to you was very mean." she said.

Smiling, Castiel went forward and hugged her. "Thank you, sister." he said.

There was a slight hesitation before Anna chuckled and hugged him back. "You're welcome. And whenever you're ready, you can tell me their names, okay?"

"Okay."

They soon settled back into their place on the meadow when Anna perked up, clearly sensing something. "Castiel, what you told me, were those really everything they said and did to you?" she asked.

Castiel felt his wings go stiff for a brief moment. "It's not important." he mumbled.

"So they _did_ do something else." Anna affirmed.

He ducked his head and avoided her gaze. "It's not important." he repeated.

"Castiel,"

"...they said my wings are ugly."

Anna sighed and Castiel found the courage to slowly look up. "I ought to make my talk to them sterner; that insult is just pushing things too far. Next to the Grace, the wings define an angel and hold their dignity; no one should dishonor that." she said.

She motioned to her side and when Castiel looked, there were multiple jars and brushes on the ground.

"Would you like to help me blow some dandelions? Just enough so we can have a clear circle," Anna asked.

Castiel had no clue what she was planning; albeit, he trusted her and set himself to work. Now, he was no stranger to blowing on dandelions, but he had never seen this many seeds floating in the air before. There were _so many_ seeds overhead that it was hard to believe they all came from just a small patch. In awe, he watched them get carried away by a breeze and suddenly he felt small simply by looking at them all; but, for once, that was alright since he felt like he could stare at them forever.

"Lie down, brother." whispered Anna, guiding him to lie down on a bare stretch of grass.

He found that it was even better to watch them while lying down. It was like watching a show perform endlessly for him.

"Now close your eyes." she said.

That managed to snap Castiel out of his daze. Close his eyes? He had never done that before. A hint of fear began making itself known to him.

"It'll be fine. I promise." Anna assured.

Just like that, Castiel obeyed. Everything became dark at once; he was not used to not seeing any color, shape or detail. He was scared; he wanted to open his eyes now.

"Relax, Castiel. I'm still here. Keep your eyes closed."

Anna. Anna was there, and she was stretching his wings out on the grass for some reason.

"Shh... Relax, relax. Now, tell me, what are the things you like?"

The things he... liked? He did not understand.

"For example, uhhm... Do you like the stars?"'

Castiel thought about it. "Yes." he replied.

A moment afterward, he felt something small, light and wet being dragged along his wing. Castiel got very startled.

"It's okay, it's okay. Just picture the stars in your mind."

Castiel did, if only to distract him from whatever Anna was doing. Then, the dark gradually lit up with stars. He was amazed at such a feat; he never realized how well his imagination worked when he had his eyes closed, like putting pictures on a blank slate.

"Do you like thunder storms?"

"No." came the immediate answer.

"How about flowers?"

Castiel could have imagined any flower, from the biggest ones to the kind that was the most fragrant. Instead, his mind instantly went to the flowers Anna had put into his crown. "I like flowers." he replied idly.

"Okay. What else?"

He thought about it. "I like bubbles, and nice fluffy clouds." he said. He thought a little more. "And frogs and tigers." he added with a bit of a laugh.

Anna giggled beside him. "They certainly sound familiar."

Castiel laughed again, a tad louder this time. "And... I like spending time with you." he said.

"You're so sweet. Don't ever change, brother. Alright, just a bit more and I'm done."

"Done with what?" he asked.

"Just a few – Okay! You can open your eyes now!"

Castiel did as he was told and found himself face to face with a smiling Anna. He then noticed that the jars had been opened, and inside each of them was a different colored liquid. "Anna...?" he began.

The smile on Anna became more radiant. "Look at your wings." she instructed excitedly.

He turned to his side and was shocked at what he saw: his right wing had been transformed into something similar to a canvas. There were pictures of stars near the edges of his wing, and they glowed and shined just like the real ones. At the bottom were flowers, exactly like those on his crown. Within the border of stars and flowers were intricately placed clouds and bubbles that seemed to be moving upward. And at the very center of it all, was the picture of a hopping frog.

When Castiel looked at his left wing, everything was the same, except that in the middle there was a pouncing tiger.

"Flip your wings over to the outer layer." said Anna.

Castiel brought his wings around himself and saw that the other side was colored in a way that resembled the sky when sunrise came, with blues, pinks, oranges and purples mixing splendidly together. He studied his wings wholly one final time, though that hardly changed how amazed he felt.

"There. Now _no one_ can say that your wings are ugly." proclaimed Anna proudly.

Castiel touched the surface of his wing, as if to ensure that the colors and pictures were really there. "Anna... it's so beautiful. Thank you." he said.

"They won't last forever, unfortunately. Paint has a very short lifespan after all. So you might as well make the most of it." said Anna. Suddenly, her grin returned and before Castiel knew it, he was being taken to a different location.

"Where are we going?" inquired Castiel.

"A place to test the endurance of the paint on your wings." Anna answered happily.

O_x

"Anna, I'm not certain about this." Castiel voiced out his concern.

"It's like I told you: just scoop a handful, compact it and then throw it at your target. Namely me." Anna explained.

With insecurity, Castiel stared at the abundance of snow around them, then at the short snow wall he had constructed in front of him, which Anna said should act as his defense barrier. "Is this combat truly necessary?" he asked.

"Just because I said we're going to have a snowball fight doesn't mean we would _actually_ fight. Think of this as a combination of your practices and our games." laughed Anna.

Castiel timidly looked down and did not say anything.

"Come on, brother! Snow is extremely rare in Heaven! In a while, it will all melt and we can't play anymore." said Anna.

That was what he was hoping for. He did not want to get hit with snow.

Suddenly, a snowball hit his wing, with enough force to make Castiel stumble.

"Anna!" he whined.

"It looks like the paint is holding up. But just to make sure..." Anna hurled a snowball at his other wing. This time, Castiel fell back onto a deep pile of snow. When he popped his head out of the mound, Anna threw another snowball and it landed squarely on top of his head.

Castiel struggled out of the snow, just in time to avoid another snowball, and hid behind his barrier. He needed to act; he did not want to keep getting hit. Thinking fast, he scooped some snow, moulded it and threw it at Anna.

The snowball hit her straight in the face. Castiel stared at the reality of that for a few moments in silence before succumbing to a fit of laughter.

Then Anna hit him in the face in retaliation. Castiel wiped the snow off him and saw that Anna was now the one laughing. Determined not to let her get the best of him, Castiel quickly scooped more snow and prepared to launch.

For the longest moment in Heaven's history, the firing of snow was exchanged in lightning-quick precision as two angels ultimately became covered in a thick layer of snow.

Inevitably, within a short time, the snow started to melt away. Castiel had his last snowball in his hand, raised and ready to throw. He was putting a smidgeon of his Grace into it to prevent it from melting. He watched as both his and Anna's barriers liquefied, and while his protection was ebbing away, so was his sister's, and the second her wall dissolved enough, Castiel would throw his final snowball at her.

Except that Anna was not there, even as all traces of snow melted away.

Castiel lowered his snowball and carefully approached Anna's site. Where was she? Could angels melt like snow? Had Anna _melted_?

"_Boo_!"

Castiel was caught so off-guard that he jumped and somehow his snowball landed on top of his head. Turning around, there was Anna – un-melted and smiling – and Castiel could not help but glare at her somewhat; as a result, the snowball on his head liquefied and water ran down his face.

Anna giggled and wiped the moisture off him as an act of apology. "Brother, I just received a message and I have exciting news!" she exclaimed.

His frustrations with the snowball fight forgotten, Castiel tilted his head in interest and waited for Anna's revelation.

"Zachariah is no longer your superior." said Anna.

Castiel's eyes widened at that. This was indeed great news! But then, he realized another factor. "So who _will _be my superior, as well the others'?" he asked.

"You're looking at her." Anna declared proudly, smile brightening.

Castiel's mind briefly went into a state of shock. "_You're my superior now_?" Even as he said it, he found it hard to believe. This was too good to be true!

"You might've heard some whispers circulating that someone was trying to usurp Zachariah's position. And I believe I mentioned the last time we met that I had an important matter to attend to," said Anna, and all of a sudden things fell into place for Castiel and he was unable to resist grinning and hugging his sister.

"I'll do things differently, I promise that. But don't expect you and the other angels can just goof off whenever you want. I'll still demand discipline and respect, Castiel." she said, her tone a mixture of lightness and seriousness.

Castiel stood back slightly. "Cas."

"What?"

"Cas. I don't mind if you call me that." he remarked.

Anna considered him for a long time before she gave him her warmest smile yet. "That's good to hear. What made you change your mind?" she asked.

For a moment, Castiel did not say anything. "I don't know. I'm just… okay with it now." he said.

It was not much of an answer, because honestly Castiel did not have a real one. Maybe he was comfortable around Anna now, enough that he wanted to confide something to her, something secret only they can share and understand, like their own language. Maybe it was also because he admired his sister so much that he wanted to be like her, even in the littlest of ways. Regardless, Anna chuckled, took his hand in hers and started leading them forward.

"So Cas," she began. "Have you ever jumped in a puddle before?"

"Not yet." Castiel replied coyly, knowing what to expect next.

They were now walking across the ground where the snow used to be, only now there were puddles.

"How about we spend a few minutes here, before we alert the others and announce the change in leadership?" Anna asked.

Castiel giggled and stepped into the nearest puddle. Like with most things Anna had made them do, he failed to see the point of this undertaking. It was so insignificant compared to the roles and obligations assigned to angels. Jumping into puddles would not honor their Father's will, it would not banish malevolence, it would not preserve the balance of life, and it would not make a big impact on time and dramatically change lives.

After feeling the water splash at his wings on his first jump, he was fine with that.

O_x

_"Anna, I don't know what to do. Please tell me what to do."_

_"Like the old days? No. I'm sorry. It's time to think for yourself."_

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_A BIG thank you to everyone who read the story this far!_

_And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: the hint for the next character! :D_

_*drum-roll*_

_The next character will be... _an archangel_! Place your bets! XD_


	10. Delivering Messages with Gabriel

**_Author's notes: A GINORMOUS thank you to Scoobert0, The Singing Duck and styx88 for helping get this chapter FINALLY posted! You have no idea how happy I am, you guys! Thanks so freaking much! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 8D_**

_

* * *

_

_Seems like each time_

_I'm with you I lose my mind,_

_Because I'm bending over backwards to relate._

_It's one thing to complain_

_But when you're driving me insane_

_Well then I think it's time that we took a break._

_._

_In Too Deep – Sum 41_

* * *

Slinging the satchel over him, Gabriel made his way out of his Father's throne room.

"Oh come on, Dad, last time wasn't _that_ bad." he exclaimed, turning around. "So I forgot to warn Atlantis that they'd get a leak. You can't take one tiny mistake and use that to base the outcome of the rest of my performances."

The next thing he knew was that he was outside and that the massive doors slammed shut behind him.

Gabriel made a peeved sound. "Figures."

He opened his satchel again to verify its contents. Yep. Seven, as always. He really did not get the fixation with that number around here, but whatever. He had a job to do, and for the sake of getting back into Dad's good graces again, he cannot afford any screw-ups. No mixed deliveries, no late deliveries, no picking up 'extra deliveries', no upsetting the clients in any means.

Sure, he can do this. He was an archangel.

He also had a selectively unreliable attention span.

Nonetheless, Gabriel secured his goods and prepared himself for the continent-hopping he had to do on Earth. He was about to depart when he saw a little blue light streaking the horizon.

A little blue light that was getting bigger and bigger and…

Gabriel was knocked onto his back as whatever had crashed into him sent them both an impressive distance away from where he had last been standing. After checking that his satchel was unharmed, Gabriel turned to look at the culprit.

It was a fledgling, one of his youngest brothers, in fact. His wings were extremely ruffled and Gabriel doubted it was because of the crash. He was a small thing; Gabriel could probably stuff him into his satchel and the kid would still have a lot of room to move around. He chuckled at the thought of abducting one of his brothers just for the fun of it; that was certainly something he had not done yet.

His brother trembled and finally showed signs of recovering from the crash. The stun of the impact probably had not worn off yet judging by how slow the fledgling gathered his bearings. If he was in his right mind, he would have already sensed Gabriel's presence and would back off him and let out a practically endless stream of apologies for even touching an archangel.

The fledgling – Castiel, as Gabriel learned by his Grace – pushed himself up and saw Gabriel for the first time. Castiel literally fell off him in shock and began clumsily scrambling away from him.

"Easy, bro; take it easy. I'm not gonna smite you or anything." said Gabriel, getting up and approaching Castiel.

Castiel scrambled away from him again and used his wings to cover himself. Underneath them, Gabriel could hear him whimpering.

Great.

Gabriel lowered himself to Castiel's level to gently peel his wings from his face. "Hey, come on out. If I wanted to obliterate you, I would've done it by now." he coaxed, later realizing that they were not exactly the best choice of words.

Regardless, that seemed to get a reaction since Gabriel felt Castiel _allowing_ his wings to be tugged aside. Castiel was currently staring at him with big blue eyes and Gabriel had a bit of trouble deciphering his thoughts.

"Alright, what were you doing zipping around the place like you got your wings on fire?" Gabriel asked.

Castiel glanced at his wings, almost like he wanted to make sure that they really _were not_ on fire. "Zachariah assigned me an errand." he said quietly, refusing to look straight at Gabriel. "I was to fetch something from Virgil on the other side of Heaven, and he said that if I don't return within five seconds – " Castiel's eyes widened suddenly and he started to take flight.

However, Gabriel stopped him before he could go anywhere. "Hey, it's too late now. Your five seconds was up when you plowed into me like a comet." he said. Still, five seconds for a fledgling? All the way to the other side of Heaven? That seemed a lot to place on someone like him.

Castiel's expression morphed into utter surprise before pure, gut-wrenching fear replaced it. If he were human, he would be encountering severe medical problems by now, like – what did they call it? – hyperventilation?

"Hey, hey, take it easy there. Relax!" said Gabriel.

His brother treated his words like an order that _should not_ be disobeyed and forced calmness into him. It was strained and fake and Gabriel wondered just how messed up Zachariah really made him.

As if on cue, Zachariah materialized in front of them.

"_Castiel_!" he thundered. "You impudent slacker, I thought I gave explicit instructions to – !"

He stopped immediately when he learned that Gabriel was there.

"Gabriel, sir… I-I didn't realize you were here." Zachariah said shakily, squeezing out a pleasant demeanor and bowing several times.

Gabriel snorted. "Obviously."

That caused Zachariah to stiffen in dread. "Sir, forgive me for my rude arrival. I was simply concerned over one of the fledglings under my care. I didn't want dear Castiel to get lost along the way or… accidentally hurt himself while handling - "

"Yeah, yeah. Listen," Gabriel walked toward Zachariah until he was towering over him; he tried not to laugh when it was clear Zachariah was scared. "As of this moment, Castiel is under my supervision, and this is to be until the time I decide to relinquish him as my charge. During that period, you nor anyone else have no authority to give him any orders. Am I clear?" he asked.

Zachariah trembled, even more so than Castiel. He had questions, obviously, regarding this random order, but he was too terrified to say them. "Yes, sir. Perfectly clear!" he squeaked.

Gabriel gave him a final, penetrating glare before breaking into a smirk. "Great! Glad we had this talk! We should hang out some time!" he said cheerfully.

He snapped his fingers and Zachariah disappeared before he could respond. Somewhere in Heaven, he reappeared and landed into mud.

With that done, Gabriel returned to Castiel, who was looking at him with confusion and wonder.

"Am… Am I really your charge now, sir?" he asked, still kind of shocked at what just happened.

"Yep. And as my first order, don't call me sir; it makes me sounds like a stuck-up bastard without a real life." Gabriel remarked.

Rather than be intimidated, Castiel tilted his head. "But why, si–? Why?" he inquired shyly. "There are other angels worthier of being directly under your service."

Gabriel sat down next to him. "True. But after that little collision a while ago, I thought it'd be best for you to get your dignity back." he said jokingly.

Castiel, however, took it way too seriously and hung his head and wings down in shame. "I'm sorry." he muttered.

"Don't. I get enough apologies everyday for the stupidest of things." he commented. "Come on, flying headfirst into an archangel? That's gotta be embarrassing. And with how things work around here, I bet that already half of Heaven knows about your mishap."

Okay, he _really_ was not good at cheering up his younger siblings.

"My point is, what better way to redeem yourself than having the very rare opportunity of working side-by-side with yours truly?" Gabriel explained, flashing him his best smile.

Castiel stared at him for a long time. "Side-by-side?" he repeated.

"You heard me. You're not my personal lackey, I'm not your power-hungry superior. It's about time we have some equality around here." said Gabriel.

To someone like Castiel, this would be the equivalent of a human child getting a gigantic unicorn for their birthday.

"I'm also doing this because you've obviously been working too hard. What, does Zachariah order you around like that all the time?" Gabriel pointedly asked.

Castiel turned his gaze to the ground, as if even speaking about Zachariah was something he should take great caution in. "Today, he is actually quite merciful." he replied.

_That_ was _merciful_?

"I rest my case. You need a break, and I could use interesting company." Gabriel declared with finality.

He could tell that Castiel was struggling to keep up with this reality. "What am I to do?" he asked. Castiel still held himself with poise and spoke far too politely for Gabriel's liking. No matter, he would loosen him up.

"You're going to help me with my job as The Messenger, which, really, is just dropping off Dad's mail to a couple of humans." said Gabriel lightly.

Castiel gaped at him, his stare alone speaking volumes. "I…"

Gabriel huffed out a laugh. "What? You didn't think that an awesome archangel as myself would be associated with boring work?" he jibed.

It took a while for Castiel to find his voice. "Are you certain I should be involved?" he asked incredulously.

Gabriel thought about giving him the menacing 'Are you questioning my authority?' line just to mess with him, but he figured his brother had had enough shocks for today. "Absolutely! I mean, are you aware of how fast you are, bro? You flew so fast you knocked _me _down, and that's saying something. Trust me, if I know you can't keep up with me I would've just let you alphabetize the mail in the office." he remarked somewhat proudly.

For all Gabriel knew, Castiel could be trying to hide into himself again due to shame, or he could be trying to suppress a smile. He was a tough nut to crack.

Anyway, back to business. Gabriel reached for his satchel and unloaded its contents for Castiel to see. "Alright, before we go, I'll explain the basics." he began. "Messages have their own version of hierarchy, namely bronze, silver and gold."

Gabriel picked up one of the bronze Messages and held it in front of Castiel. "This is a bronze, although I think you got that part. Anyway, each hierarchy corresponds to a different content. Bronze holds ideas, like for a new invention or a new way of thinking that would revolutionize the whole joint. Just insert this into the human melon and their creative juices will start pumping like there's no tomorrow." he explained.

He got a silver Message next. "Silver, for dreams and prophecies. It's almost the same banana as the bronze except you gotta put this while the human's asleep. So that's three for the bronze, three for the silver and…"

"One gold," said Castiel, picking up the last Message. Instantly, Castiel's light dimmed by a quarter.

Gabriel quickly snatched it away from him. "Yeah, the gold. You alright there?" he asked.

Castiel looked at him blearily, wings drooping in fatigue, before his Grace replenished the light he lost and he regained his strength.

"Okay. Good. That's a close call." Gabriel sighed in relief.

"What happened to me?" Castiel asked, fear edging his words.

"You just had your life energy sucked out." Gabriel replied solemnly. He held the gold Message out, but paid in mind to distance it from Castiel; he was having second thoughts about letting Castiel help him. "Gold is for declarations. I don't just slip this into some guy's head, I have to read it to them personally and see to it that the numbskulls do what's been written. You can live without the other two, but don't ever take the gold one lightly. Whatever's in it's so important it needs the essence of life to keep the message intact. And judging by how much energy it needs, I'm guessing this is the most important Message yet, like change-the-world-forever-important."

There was silence for a long time.

"How come it's not stealing _your_ energy?" Castiel piped up.

Gabriel smirked and stowed the Messages back into his satchel. "I have a lot of energy I can afford to expend." he said. He got up. "So, you ready?"

Uncertainty flashed briefly across Castiel's face. "Yes." he said.

"Awesome." Gabriel unfurled his wings and he noticed Castiel stumble in amazement at the sight of them. "Would you stop freaking out?" he laughed, though there was a chance he _might have_ intentionally made them flashier than usual. "Oh yeah, you _do _know how to breathe, right?"

"I'm… aware of the mechanics." replied Castiel nervously.

"Close enough."

In less than a second, they were gone.

O_x

On Earth, in a rainforest at dawn, Gabriel made a perfect landing into his vessel. Castiel touched down beside him soon after. As Gabriel settled into his meat-suit and checked its condition, he noticed his brother staring at him.

"I know, this guy could use a _bit_ of a growth spurt, but he's great anyway." said Gabriel.

"Do I… Do I have to select a vessel as well?" Castiel timidly inquired, and Gabriel had no clue whether his tenseness was because he was talking to an archangel or he was normally like this.

"At your age, not really. I doubt your Grace can handle a soul yet, let alone hearing a human's voice in your head; I can't have you being traumatized by that." he laughed, albeit it was not a joke.

Gabriel stood back a little to inspect his brother's form and essence; Castiel shrank into himself again at being scrutinized. "Hold still." he instructed.

He snapped his fingers.

Castiel looked down at himself and was more than a little surprised at his new appearance. Slowly, he raised his hands in front of him, hands with actual skin, bone and blood, and wiggled his fingers experimentally. He gave his abdomen a tentative poke, and he retracted his hand quickly as if he might upset the internal organs he now had. He wiggled his toes and took a wary first step with his new legs; that caused a lock of his dark hair to fall onto his forehead. Castiel put his hands on top of his head and apprehensively felt the hair he currently had. He let out a sound that could have been both a laugh and a cry of horror.

Conjuring a long mirror, Gabriel chuckled despite himself. "Like it? You'll drive the local virgins wild!" he said, presenting the mirror to Castiel.

Eventually, Castiel got the courage to approach the mirror and see his whole new self. Gabriel watched as fascination replaced fear in his brother's expression, which was presently much easier to read. He looked like a typical child in that get-up, albeit the white and blue robe he had on betrayed his angelic nature a tad.

"Before you ask, that's not a real human body. It's just a convincing façade that'll let you blend in and actually interact with people. And you really do need to work on your social skills." Gabriel stated, getting rid of the mirror.

It took some time for Castiel to respond. "I'm to interact with humans?" he asked diffidently.

"Call it training for when you get a real vessel, plus an excuse to have some fun." Gabriel smirked and ruffled Castiel's hair, to which Castiel reacted by going stiff and shrinking into himself.

Gabriel sighed; he really had to work on getting Castiel out of his shell, show him that an archangel can be his _brother_. "Alright! So, the first Message we gotta drop off is this." He pulled out a silver Message from his satchel, then gestured at a settlement located nearby. "We'll start small first. I'll drop this off to our guy, and for now you watch over the rest of the mail." he instructed, dumping the satchel onto Castiel, who faltered for a moment. "The combined energy of these Messages is usually enough to raise the humans' senses and suspicions that something's going on, and our business prefers to work incognito, know what I mean? We can't have a whole village waking up at the _same_ _time_. So just stay put, keep the energy at a distance, and I'll be back before you know it."

He went and left a flabbergasted Castiel in the dark.

Gabriel fleetingly considered showing a bit more compassion to the kid, like slowing down the turn of events or asking if he was even okay with this. Still, it was fleeting.

As morning officially came, Gabriel imparted the Message to its rightful addressee, who was sleeping on a hammock outside his hut. When he returned to where he left his brother, Castiel was gone.

If he was not under Dad's leash right now, he would be cursing up a storm that will shame the Big Flood.

This was bad; _seriously_ bad. They were not even here for five minutes and he already lost his brother? Did Castiel just wander off on his own? No, he did not seem like the type to do something without asking permission first. Did Dad think bringing him here was a bad idea and pulled him back home?

"Greetings. Is this child yours?"

Gabriel turned swiftly and saw a woman before him, with Castiel beside her. "Yeah, he's with me." he replied smoothly.

"I hope you don't mind that I moved him." she said. "I was on my way to fetch water when I noticed him just standing by himself. He appeared frightened and lost."

He still looked like that now, perhaps more so since a human had a hand on his shoulder, Gabriel noted. "He's just shy. My brother's not used to meeting people." he honestly remarked.

"Your brother?" The woman – Kera – looked down at Castiel, who quickly made his way behind Gabriel to hide. He was actually more scared of coming into contact with a human than an archangel! "Why did you leave him alone? This is not a safe place to disregard children, especially in darkness!"

Disregard? He was totally regarding Castiel! "Well, we're just passing by anyway. I just had to drop off something and we'll be on our way. Besides, Castiel's a big boy." replied Gabriel.

Kera put a hand to her hips and shook her head. "Would you two at least like some breakfast before you go?" she asked.

Gabriel instantly perked at that. "We'd _love_ breakfast, wouldn't we, bro?" he responded, pulling a rigid Castiel from behind and putting him in front.

"Very well. Follow me please." she said, ambling to the right. Gabriel grabbed his satchel from Castiel, as well as his brother's hand, and pursued her.

"Hey, don't be scared, alright? It's just breakfast, then we can set off." whispered Gabriel, patting Castiel's back.

Castiel tried to calm down. "What's breakfast?" he asked a moment later.

It was getting harder not to swear. Did he at least know how to eat? Because if not, they would have an awkward situation. Gabriel was about to explain when he noticed that they were already at Kera's front door.

"Just do what I do." said Gabriel, winking, before they crossed the threshold.

While Kera prepared their food, Gabriel plopped down onto the nearest chair. He then snatched up Castiel (who gave a little squeal in the process) and placed him on top of his lap. Gabriel jiggled his leg to remove the anxiety from his brother, and by the time their food arrived, the sole expression on Castiel's face was curiosity.

It was fresh, honey-coated bread with fruit filling, plus two cups of milk. Gabriel thought that this would be an excellent 'first-food' for Castiel.

"Help yourselves. I'll just be in the next room." said Kera pleasantly as she went through another door.

When they were alone, Gabriel grabbed a piece of bread and started munching on it immediately. About halfway done, he noticed Castiel staring with his head tilted to one side.

Gabriel got a piece of bread and handed it to Castiel. After that, he continued eating his own bread, but at a slower pace so Castiel can follow: open mouth, chew, swallow.

Gabriel was already on his fourth bread when Castiel finally raised his bread to his mouth to take a tiny bite. He gradually chewed twice, and a few seconds later, Castiel's eyes widened and he let out a surprised, contented noise.

"Not bad, huh?" Gabriel remarked, watching his brother chew faster then take a bigger bite.

Once all the bread was gone, the cups of milk were next. This time, Castiel willingly grabbed his own cup. Gabriel sipped once and waited for Castiel to copy. Castiel tipped his cup, and while he managed to drink, most of the milk spilled onto his robe. Gabriel laughed; he really was like a human child.

Suddenly, there was the sound of loud wailing. Castiel was so shocked that he spilled the rest of his milk on him; Gabriel snapped his fingers to clean him up, right before Kera emerged with a baby in her arms.

"Hush, hush…" she cooed.

While Gabriel had been through many tortures in his existence, they were all currently denigrated by the sheer intensity of the baby's crying. Seriously, if he was not on business right now, he will not hesitate to stuff a potato into its mouth simply to make it stop.

"Would you care to hold him? I'll just get him his food," said Kera, stepping forward.

No. No freaking way! Gabriel had nothing against babies, but he was not going to hold a bawling, kicking, smelly, drooling, squishy lump of flesh. He was about to tell her that when Kera knelt down to Castiel. She demonstrated to him how to properly hold a baby, and when she transferred her still-crying son to him, Gabriel felt his brother's Grace leap in surprise.

When Kera left, Gabriel snuck a glance at Castiel, who was struggling with his hold on the baby. "Good luck there, bro." he said cheekily.

Castiel finally got him in the right position, and the baby _instantly quieted down_. Gabriel checked to see what happened and saw that the baby and Castiel were having a sort staring contest, both of them treating the other like he was the most fascinating thing in the universe; what was worst was that they were doing that _on Gabriel's lap_. The baby raised his hand and placed it on Castiel's chest, its eyes growing wider.

"You're not using your powers, are you?" Gabriel whispered.

Castiel shook his head.

Just then, Kera walked in; she was also surprised at the unexpected silence. "Thank goodness he calmed down." she remarked, picking up her son.

He started crying again when Castiel was no longer holding him.

Before anything else could happen, Gabriel got up, grabbed Castiel and made for the door. "So uh, thanks for the breakfast! We'd love to stay and have some more but we got places to go, people to meet…"

"Wait! Take these with you." said Kera, her right hand extended and holding something.

Wind-chimes.

"Uhm… sure. Why?" Gabriel asked, getting them.

Kera struggled a moment with her son. "For your brother." she replied.

He glanced at Castiel, who was as transfixed on the wind-chimes as he had been on the baby. Gabriel wanted to ask more questions but they really had to leave; their cover was already blown.

The second they were outside and out of Kera's sight, they flew.

O_x

They landed on the other side of the world, at the borders of a city in the desert.

"Mind telling me what these are for?" Gabriel asked, dangling the wind-chimes.

"I don't know. I didn't say anything to her." said Castiel, his tone begging Gabriel not to punish him. "But…"

"But?" pressed on Gabriel.

A hesitation. "I was gazing at something similar in another human's dwelling while waiting for you. She must've thought I liked it." admitted Castiel.

"Do you?"

A longer pause. "Yes."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, then chuckled as he ruffled his brother's hair. He conjured a small backpack and gave it, plus the wind-chimes, to Castiel. "Here, put your shiny souvenir in the pack. I can't have you jingling everywhere we go." he laughed.

Castiel did as he was told, and Gabriel put the backpack on him when he was finished. "This time you're tagging along. The entire city's awake so everyone's gonna feel a buzz _everywhere_." he said.

They entered the gates and were soon immersed in the crowd. There were a lot of people still out and about even though it was getting dark; instinctively, Gabriel pulled Castiel closer and quickened his steps. Soon, they reached the building where their next client was holed up in a meeting of some kind. It seemed like he would be there a while. Sighing, Gabriel sat down on the front steps of the building and motioned for Castiel to do likewise.

"We're going to wait?" Castiel asked.

"Unfortunately." grumbled Gabriel.

"Why can't we just go in?" he added.

Gabriel's lips curled into a smirk. "Dad says I should try acting within the boundaries of human rules." he replied. Technically, that was not how He really phrased that; Dad's version was more… descriptively honest, and Castiel did not need to hear that.

So they waited.

A minute later, Gabriel was bored out of his mind.

An hour later, Castiel still looked like he could handle waiting for another century. Meanwhile, Gabriel had been pounding his head against the building due to sheer boredom. He wanted to conjure some entertainment, but _his _form of entertainment was way too 'eye-catching' and would make the people iffy in an instant. Maybe he could light a fire inside to get the guy out the building already! The next Message was a bronze anyway; maybe it would be for the invention of a fire extinguisher or something.

Then, a little girl skipped along and stopped in front of Castiel. Gabriel raised a brow in interest and leaned forward to see what would transpire.

Castiel and the girl stared for a long time before the latter reached into her pocket and extracted a pinwheel. She then presented it to Castiel; Castiel considered it nervously then turned to Gabriel for guidance. Chuckling, Gabriel made a 'take it' gesture.

When Castiel tensely took the pinwheel into his hands, Gabriel said, "Now, what do you say to the nice girl?"

His brother looked at him, then at the girl. "I don't understand this object." said Castiel.

Gabriel slapped a hand to his forehead. _Say thank you! _he communicated mentally.

"Thank you." Castiel recovered, flustered.

The little girl giggled, kissed him quickly on the nose, then ran away squealing.

Both angels sat in silence for a while.

"What I tell ya? First day on the job and the local virgins are already all over you!" Gabriel cheerfully remarked.

Castiel squinted at the pinwheel. "But… she hardly touched me." he commented.

Instead of sighing in annoyance, Gabriel released a boisterous laugh. "You'll get the hang of things soon enough." he said, further messing Castiel's already unkempt hair. This time, Castiel actually relaxed and allowed a tiny smile.

The doors of the building finally opened and their next client stepped out. As a breeze picked up, Gabriel took the time to pause and admire how his brother stared intently at the spinning pinwheel in his hands, like a human kid watching something magical unfold.

Getting the bronze Message out, Gabriel had no doubt that having his brother along for this ride was a good idea.

O_x

While Castiel had a better endurance than most fledglings, Gabriel was an angel who was extremely hard to keep up with. Upon reaching Africa, Castiel showed signs of exhaustion and Gabriel thought a five-minute pit-stop would do them good.

Naturally, he made them camp out in a tree-house in the middle of the Serengeti. And since it was nighttime, he conjured a load of pillows too.

"Ahh," Gabriel leaned back against a pile of pillows and put his feet upon another pile. Even though he only came to Earth to work, these were also the only times he could relax decently. He was away from all the chaos upstairs; sometimes he wished he could do this forever.

Tinkling noises broke the tranquility.

He cracked one eye open and saw that Castiel was fiddling with his wind-chimes, all the way on the other side of the tree-house. Gabriel bit back a sigh; his brother was _still_ uncomfortable around him.

Sitting up, Gabriel called out, "Hey, Castiel, come over here a sec!"

Castiel stiffened in apprehension but put down his wind-chimes and crossed over the sea of pillows anyway. Gabriel patted the pillows next to him in a gesture to invite Castiel to sit beside him, which his brother eventually took.

Gabriel wrapped an arm around his small shoulders. "So, having fun so far?" he jovially asked.

It took a while for Castiel to answer. "I'm… contented." he offered.

Better than miserable at least, but Gabriel refused to have him still 'contented' by the time the job was done. He snapped his fingers and Castiel found himself with a zebra plush toy on his lap.

"What's this?" inquired Castiel.

"A toy." said Gabriel. "Since you've been getting freebies lately, I might as well add to the pot."

It was a gift from an archangel, a great privilege very few had ever received, something which Castiel was fully aware of. "Thank you." he said, enthralled.

"Nah, forget about it." Gabriel dismissed. There was silence for a moment. "You're okay with whole globe-trotting thing, right? You're not onboard just because I said so? 'Cuz if you wanna go back, that's fine with me. I won't force you to stay if you're unhappy." he stated.

Castiel stared at him with wide eyes for a long time. This was probably the first time the kid ever heard of a non-compulsory order; it was not even technically an order. All his life he had been directly following orders and rarely had he decided on something on his own, rarely had someone considered what _he _wanted. And to get this from an _archangel_ was probably blowing his mind.

"I'd like to stay." concluded Castiel.

That made Gabriel smile like a proud brother. Without hesitation, he grabbed a pillow and hit Castiel.

Castiel's 'I-don't-understand-what's-going-on' expression was enough for Gabriel to hit him again. This time, Castiel fell over. Being the unmerciful archangel that he was, Gabriel hit him again despite his brother being down.

"Come on! Are you an angel of the Lord or not?" challenged Gabriel.

Suddenly, a pillow hit Gabriel so hard he went through the walls of the tree-house and landed on the ground.

Gabriel lied there on the grass for a minute.

"_You call that a hit? You throw like a human girl!_" he screamed, guffawing.

He flew back up, and the first, most epic pillow-fight ever commenced.

TBC

* * *

_Wow, you guys. Thanks so much for the support! Seriously, thank you!_

_Btw, if there are historical inaccuracies (such as something not actually being invented yet during this time period), please just bear with me. XD_


	11. ii

_If you only knew_

_How many times I counted_

_All the words that went wrong_

_If you only knew_

_How I refuse to let you go,_

_Even when you're gone_

_I don't regret any days I_

_Spent, nights we shared,_

_Or letters that I sent_

_._

_If you only knew – Shinedown _

* * *

The next Message was silver, and its recipient was inside the snooty palace beyond them.

Gabriel was about to zap themselves in when a guardsman suddenly slapped handcuffs onto his and Castiel's wrists.

"Whoah, buddy, what gives?" Gabriel asked.

"I am _no '_buddy' of yours. And 'what gives' is that you two have crushed the emperor!" he yelled.

Simultaneously, both angels glanced down to find that, indeed, there was a guy underneath them, twitching and moaning in agony.

"Huh, would you look at that," Gabriel remarked. This was the first time angels poofed on top of someone. The man seemed familiar though – what was his name? Something-Caesar?

The guardsman ruthlessly tugged at their chains and Castiel stumbled into Gabriel helplessly. "You two are under arrest! You are to serve time in prison until the day of execution arrives!" he barked, pulling them into the palace.

"And that would be…?" Gabriel pressed.

"At sundown." he sinisterly answered. "You can join the rest of the prisoners in the coliseum; I'm certain the lions would be most pleased by your addition."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Course they'd be pleased. After seeing mooks like you all day, I'd be pleased to see anybody else too." he jibed.

At that, the guard pulled out a whip and stepped into Gabriel's personal space to glare. "Watch your mouth, cretin, or I'll slash you open like a fruit." he snarled.

"I'm quaking with terror." sighed Gabriel.

As they were dragged deeper into the palace, Castiel sidled as close as he could to Gabriel and whispered, "Why are you letting him make captives of us?"

Gabriel smirked. "'Cuz our next client's in one of the prison-cells of this dump anyway; might as well get there the old-fashioned way. "'Sides, wouldn't it be cool if you got to tell your pals back home that you went to jail?" he replied.

His brother fearfully looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

They went down a winding, narrow staircase where the light got dimmer and dimmer. Within minutes, the three of them were walking along dank corridors with cell after cell passing them by, and every cell, as it seemed, already had occupants. The guard led them to the cell at the end of the line, where only a man was there, curled up on the floor and sleeping.

The guard opened the cell, undid their cuffs and boorishly kicked Gabriel in first. While hitting his head on the stonewall will not grant him a bruise, it still kind of hurt. He turned around in time to see the guard lift Castiel off his feet and throw him to the cell's floor like trash; Gabriel quickly caught his brother before he totally went sailing.

"How're you doing, small fry?" he asked.

Castiel blinked up at him for a moment, still a bit shocked. "I think I'm bleeding." he murmured.

Normally, something as physical as bleeding was no biggie for angels, but Gabriel decided to check anyway. "Alright, where is it?" he asked.

Avoiding his gaze, Castiel muttered an "I'll heal it." under his breath.

Gabriel raised a suspicious brow. "Sure. Heal away. Now where is it?" he pressed.

Castiel shifted uneasily and the slightest whimper was heard.

"Castiel, if you don't show me where you're hurt at the count of five, I am full-on stripping you in front of all these other prisoners. One... Two..." Gabriel threatened.

At three, very slowly, Castiel lifted the bottom folds of his robe away to reveal an extremely nasty scrape across his leg. It was still bleeding and did not look like it was healing. Gabriel realized that, since the meat-suit Castiel was wearing technically was not a real vessel, Castiel was not really all that 'connected' with it, which meant healing it was next to impossible for him to do.

Gabriel placed his hand on the wound and when he pulled back, the skin was as good as new. He had to be more careful with his brother from now on.

Setting Castiel aside, Gabriel stood up and walked over to the bars of their cell. Just a few meters away, their ever-chipper guard was arguing with a janitor who held an upward mop in his hands, about 'keeping the place dirty so the wretched scumbags here can wallow in their godforsaken filth'.

As the argument dwindled down, Gabriel beckoned Castiel over before snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the guard slipped on the wet floor and crashed face-first into the mop-head, which caused him to further lose his balance and he ended up having his bum into the bucket. Throughout that fiasco, the guard managed to knock over one of the torches and it landed by his sandals… sandals made of apparently _very_ flammable material.

Gabriel snickered to himself as the guard ran away, shrieking like an old lady, with a clueless janitor and an uproar of laughter from the cells in his wake.

"My work here is done, or most of it, I guess." said Gabriel.

The man in the far corner of their cell began to stir, probably woken up from all the commotion outside. Castiel broke away from Gabriel and gradually approached the man, curiosity getting the better of him. He was about to put his hand on the man when Gabriel cleared his throat.

"Castiel, what did I tell you in these kind of instances?" he nagged.

His brother stared at him for a while, nodded then conjured a stick, which he used to poke at the man.

This was one of the proudest moments in Gabriel's life.

Eventually, the man showed promising signs that he was not on the road to the afterlife when he grabbed the stick from Castiel's hands and threw it to the other side of the cell. "_What_?" he grumbled.

"Rise and shine, pal! You got two new roommates and we're itching to know the neighborhood." said Gabriel merrily.

The guy muttered irately and curled into himself more, like the two of them would go away if he ignored them long enough.

Gabriel walked over to the opposite wall, picking up Castiel along the way, then plopped down to sit. "So, what're you in for?" he casually asked, because they might as well talk while they were in here.

At first, the man did not seem keen on answering. "I declared so-called 'blasphemies' that upset the government and society, as well as questioned the emperor's dictatorship." he replied.

"Nice." Gabriel remarked. "Me and my bro got turned in for squashing Caesar in _public_!"

That finally got the man to sit up and turn to them. "How did you – ?" Upon getting a decent look at them, he fearfully scrambled further into the corner. "No. No, no, no, no, no, _no_! _No! _Motherfu– !"

"Hey!" Gabriel interrupted, placing his hands over Castiel's ears. "No cursing around my little brother. You can do that when it's just the two of us, but I can't have you traumatizing him."

The man stared at Castiel disbelievingly for a long time, as if just noticing he was there. "Traumatize _him_? What about me? I'm scarred for life!" he screamed.

"Please, you're over-exaggerating, Luke." dismissed Gabriel.

"I'm _in here_ because of you! You and this brainwash you've been administering! Horrid, senseless pieces of shi– !"

"Which reminds me," Gabriel stuck a hand into his satchel and fished out a silver Message. "Time for your daily dose of the future!" he said in a singsong voice.

Luke was distancing himself from them, albeit his eyes remained on Gabriel. "NO! Not again! These are my final moments of sanity and I will not have them wasted!" He scurried to the bars and started throwing himself at them like some deranged mudskipper. "_Guards! Guards!_"

Eventually, Luke became a cross between a mudskipper and a really awkward orangutan. It was not a pretty sight.

Gabriel stood up and went over to Luke. "Come on, Luke. Here comes the yummy prophecy; open up!" he coddled, waving the Message around like a treat and placing his hand on Luke's shoulder.

Luke aggressively shrugged him off. "Don't touch me you…!"

Gabriel snapped his fingers and made Castiel deaf, then made him face the wall in case he read Luke's lips.

Luke's swearing lasted for five straight minutes. Gabriel was impressed.

"You done or are you getting your second wind?" asked Gabriel, returning Castiel's hearing.

Still recovering, Luke glared at him before letting out a frustrated yell. He ran to another corner where there were a discarded bowl and spoon and picked them up.

"Stay back! _Back!_" he shouted as he brandished the objects like a sword and shield; except, that method would have been slightly more effective if he did not treat the _bowl_ as the _sword_. "Don't test me. I'm armed with a bowl! I… I know basic trigonometry!" he spouted.

Suddenly, Castiel snuck up beside him (probably wondering what Luke was doing so he got a closer look) and startled Luke so much that he stumbled, slipped, knocked his head on the bars and collapsed to the floor in an unconscious, bloody heap.

"Well, that's one way of knocking him out." commented Gabriel.

A snap of his fingers and Luke was patched up, although he was still out. Gabriel knelt down and slipped the Message into his noggin; when he got up, Luke's eyes started to flicker under their lids and his fingers twitched. Another snap of Gabriel's fingers and Luke was zapped back to his house, tucked in bed and safe.

Gabriel caught Castiel's wide-eyed expression. "What? He'll be fine. One time, Luke ended up being trampled by cows – a very miserable death, if you ask me. And reviving him wasn't so glorious either." he said.

Castiel still had that unnerved expression on him.

"How 'bout we split already?" Gabriel asked.

O_x

They landed in a remote valley on a remarkably cool afternoon.

"Hmm… I know our next guy's around here somewhere," said Gabriel, scouring the fields.

"Is that him?" Castiel inquired, pointing.

Gabriel followed the direction he was indicating; sure enough, he could make out the top of a man's head peeping out of the bushes. "Good job." he said, ruffling Castiel's hair, and this time he appeared to enjoy it.

He got his brother's hand and they went over to their next client, who happened to be a passed-out drunk with half a bottle of wine spilling from his hand. It seemed like someone partied _real _hard last night, if the bottle, black-eye and hickeys were anything to go by. And now he was going to get a Message from God that would go along with his psychedelic-booze dream. Awesome.

Gabriel was struck with a thought. "Hey, wanna jam the Message into his skull?" he asked his brother.

Castiel stared at him for a second before shyly turning away. "The task of an archangel… I couldn't possibly besmirch…" he muttered.

"I told you that you can help and that's what you're going to do." said Gabriel. "Now you either ram it into his brain or I'm dumping his drink down your throat."

The terrified look Castiel had on was absolutely priceless.

Gabriel burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! No one's dumping anything down your throat." he chuckled.

He got the last silver Message from his bag and gave it to Castiel, who regarded it like it would eat his face or something. His brother glanced at their conked out guy then at Gabriel with extremely worried eyes.

"Go on! In this condition, it looks like he can sleep through Raphael's hissy-fits. He won't bite." placated Gabriel. He pushed Castiel a little and he nearly staggered into the man; his brother squealed at that.

After calming himself down, Castiel spared a last glimpse at Gabriel before cautiously approaching the man on his own. Very timidly, he lifted the Message as high as his arms could and inserted it into the man's head bit-by-bit. Despite that Castiel was being seriously slow in doing this, Gabriel noticed that he had a nice steady hold. Maybe with a little more practice, Castiel can become a messenger too.

A minute later, the silver Message was gone and Castiel stood back to marvel at his accomplishment. It was actually kind of a heart-warming sight.

"Hey you hear that?" asked Gabriel, attention moving onto something lively. Even Castiel heard it and his focus also shifted. "Let's check it out!"

Gabriel scooped Castiel into his arms as they went deeper into the woods, until eventually they found a very interesting, energetic clearing. There were (_really hot_) nymphs dancing everywhere, satyr-bands playing music in random spots, and people gulping down food and chugging down wine like the liver was a figment of the imagination. And the best part was that there were a hundred tables all over the place – very long, very wide and very heavy with the huge cakes on top of them.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Gabriel.

"Look, everyone! New faces!" declared a nymph.

There was an explosion of applause, followed by humans and nymphs running over to greet them. They each presented jugs of wine in their hands and Gabriel thought that it was a welcoming gift.

Then they all threw the wine at him and Castiel and cheered louder.

Best. Greeting. Ever!

Castiel wrapped his purple-red arms tight around Gabriel's neck as a dazzling figure stepped out of the crowd. "Welcome to our festive gathering! It's always a pleasure to have more people join in the merry-making! I'm Dionysus." he introduced, placing a hand on top of Gabriel and Castiel's shoulder. "That's quite an energy you two have in there, too much to be human." he observed.

Castiel's grip around Gabriel's neck became tighter and Gabriel could not blame him.

"Name's Loki." replied Gabriel smoothly. It was the alias he was using increasingly lately. "And this is Byleist." he added, pointing at Castiel, who gaped at him incredulously.

"Ah, northern gods. It's such a delight to have you here!" said Dionysus, clapping once.

"So, uhh… What's the occasion?" Gabriel asked, gesturing at the area.

"Anything you want! Birthday, wedding, a successful hunt… The point is to be happy and wash your sorrows away." chirped Dionysus.

"I hear that." agreed Gabriel.

Castiel shifted in his hold. "Gab–" he began, before Gabriel covered his mouth with his hand.

"Play along." whispered Gabriel. He returned to Dionysus and abruptly changed the subject to derail his suspicions. "Say, how's about a couple of gods like us have some friendly competition?" he proposed.

Dionysus seemed intrigued. "Of what sort?" he prompted.

"Wine-drinking, food-eating contest. The guy who packs down the most, wins. Just harmless fun." said Gabriel. Really, this was merely an excuse to indulge in as much junk as he could on a limited time.

"You _are _aware that I'm the god of wine? This hardly counts as a competition." Dionysus remarked.

"So I guess you have nothing to worry about." retorted Gabriel.

Castiel was dreadfully looking at Gabriel then Dionysus alternately as if he was watching a death-match unfold.

"Very well. Harmless fun. I'll meet you in the center table." said Dionysus, clapping Gabriel twice on the shoulder before disappearing into the crowd.

"Brother," Castiel whimpered.

That was the first time he called Gabriel brother, and it stopped him from following Dionysus for a second. "Don't tell me you wanna leave now," he sighed. He wiped some wine off Castiel's face in an attempt to soothe him. "This isn't blasphemy, alright? I'm not upstaging Dad or anything; we're still incognito. If I'll make my round with Dionysus quick, will it make you feel better?" Gabriel asked.

Castiel nodded deliberately.

"Okay. In the meantime, loosen up! Have fun! Make friends!" exclaimed Gabriel as he started walking.

Castiel tensed at those words. "But I – "

A slice of cake was promptly stuffed into his mouth and shut him up. Castiel blinked in shock for a moment before he slowly began to chew on the cake. It did not take long for him to stuff his face into the frosting and make _very_ satisfied noises.

"That's better." said Gabriel, patting Castiel on the back. "Make the most of your time here. When's the last time there's a party at home?"

Castiel looked up from what remained of his cake to reveal his face covered in frosting. "Heaben nehber – " he started with a mouthful of cake.

"We _never _get parties, exactly! All the more reason to be here." Gabriel pointed out.

By the time Castiel was licking his fingers, Gabriel spotted a group of kids playing nearby. They would do. When Castiel sensed Gabriel was about to put him down, he reached for his neck again and held on for dear life. Gabriel sighed and tugged at his brother, but Castiel refused to budge. Gabriel pulled harder yet Castiel remained firm. Finally, Gabriel made his neck ghost-like so when he pulled at Castiel, he just helplessly went along with it.

"You be good now. There's a law here about underage drinking, but I think you'll slide. Barely." joked Gabriel as he placed Castiel on the grass. He tousled his hair twice as vigorously before turning tail to find Dionysus.

Vaguely, he heard Castiel stumble after him. Then he heard a much louder sound from some of the kids:

"Hey! It's a new kid!"

"Let's throw cake at him!"

Splattering noises followed afterward.

"And no smiting anybody!" Gabriel added over his shoulder.

O_x

"You're a highly worthy adversary." Dionysus remarked. He finished off another keg of wine and threw it to the rest of the pile.

"Not so bad yourself, hotshot." said Gabriel, eating the last of a cake.

Dionysus regarded the cake and wine yet to be consumed. "This could go on for days." he stated.

"I'm so fine with that."

"I concur."

As Gabriel was about to start on another cake, he looked around to check on his brother but found no sign of him, visually or with his Grace.

Then, he saw one of the kids he left Castiel with walk by. "Hey, you! Where's Ca – Uh, Byleist?" he asked.

"The new kid?" the boy inquired. "Maenads took him some time ago."

Maenads. Not good.

Gabriel stood up. "Sorry, pal. We'll have to cut this short." he said.

Dionysus shrugged. "More wine for me then." he said, working on another keg.

Gabriel's search started off on a brisk walk, then eventually a fast run that knocked down a lot of humans (and a wall) in the process. Dad was going to kill him if he lost a fledgling to maenads.

"Hello there. Is this bundle of sweetness with you?"

He stopped so hard he upturned a big chunk of earth. Gabriel sought out the source and was met with a group of ladies under the shade who were either swigging wine or dangling on trees. In their midst was Castiel, who Gabriel hardly recognized since he was coated in frosting. But the weirdest thing about him was that his brother seemed… way too relaxed and happy around the maenads. Usually in these situations, Castiel would be scared-stiff and run toward his savior of a big brother.

"As a matter of fact, yes." said Gabriel guardedly. When a maenad picked up Castiel and alternately kissed his cheeks and tummy, Castiel just giggled and did not protest. "What did you do to him?" Gabriel asked seriously.

"He was so tense before." said kissy-maenad.

"Nervous." said another, twirling a lock of Castiel's hair.

"Jumpy." Another maenad.

"Scared."

"But with a little wine," Or more like a whole _mountain _of wine judging by how many kegs they 'hid' in the bushes.

"Funky incense," The same amount went to the incense. A maenad held Castiel up by his feet like a baby monkey and started swinging him back and forth.

"And lotus-flowers," A maenad produced a lotus-flower from her bosom.

"He's better, better, better! Wheee!" A maenad hanging upside-down on a tree grabbed Castiel's ankles and, with another maenad in the next tree, began playing a combination of trapeze artist and catch. Castiel had a dreamy smile on his face.

"You fed him lotus-flowers?" Gabriel practically yelled. Angels normally did not have to worry about suffering from their effects since they have immunity to things like that; however, Castiel was still a fledgling, and his immunity system had yet to fully kick in.

"They don't grow here locally."

"They're presents from a friend."

"Rarities. Delicacies. Emergencies only."

Castiel fell from the trees but a maenad thankfully caught him. "He's such a precious emergency." she said, smothering more frosting on him. The maenad beside her leaned in and tried to offer Castiel a lotus-flower.

For the first time, Gabriel felt something he never thought he would around women: disdain. "Much as I appreciate dragging my bro outta his shell, I'd rather he do it on his own." Gabriel gathered a now dazed Castiel into his arms before he got fed again. "We're leaving."

Simultaneously, the maenads got to their feet and dropped their carefree demeanor.

"We can't let you do that." one of them said forebodingly, showing bloodstained claws.

Gabriel and Castiel were surrounded now. Suddenly, monstrous clouds rolled overhead and it became dark; lightning tore through the sky and Gabriel's wings – huge enough to cover the whole clearing – flashed threateningly to the maenads, but a source of wonder to Castiel. The maenads drew back in fear, to which Gabriel just smirked.

"Kiss my smokin' hot ass, bitches." said Gabriel.

After a powerful, blinding strike of lightning, both angels were gone.

O_x

Gabriel landed in a dim alley. It was obvious that the effect of the lotus-flowers was wearing off on Castiel when clarity reentered his eyes. Gabriel placed his brother on the ground. "You holding up there?" he asked.

Castiel stared at him with too wide, too glassy eyes until he looked down to where his feet were uneasily shifting. His shoulders began to quiver and it was not long before Gabriel noticed he was crying.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" he asked, kneeling down to level with Castiel. Gabriel gently lifted his brother's chin so that they were face-to-face; tears were rolling down Castiel's cheeks and he was doing everything he can to avoid eye contact.

"I'm sorry we had to leave because of me. I knew you like it there." he muttered. And though Castiel did not say it, Gabriel knew he also felt ashamed for getting entangled with the maenads.

"Yeah, well, I like my family better. And in the right head!" said Gabriel cheerfully, ruffling Castiel's cake-covered hair. This time, Castiel let out a squeal of laughter.

The moment was interrupted when a lump appeared under Castiel's robe and started moving around.

Gabriel sat back in surprise. "What's that?"

Castiel blinked and glanced downward, appearing as surprised as Gabriel was. Gingerly, he reached down into his robe and pulled out a small bunny.

There was a moment of silence, one that was too awkward for Gabriel.

Finally, he sighed. "I'll bite. What's a bunny doing under your robe?" inquired Gabriel.

Castiel and the bunny were having a full-on staring contest, and Gabriel had to remind himself to keep his brother away from small life forms for the time being unless he wanted staring contests to be a regular occurrence. It was amusing and disturbing at the same time.

"Maenads must've put it there." Castiel murmured distractedly.

He had his head tilted to one side, and strangely the bunny copied the action. When Castiel tilted his head to the other side, the bunny also followed. That time, Castiel's cake-smeared cheek was brought closer to the bunny, which the bunny immediately took advantage of by squeezing out of Castiel's hold a bit and nibbling on the sweet coating.

Castiel was thrown into a fit of giggles; either he was naturally ticklish or Gabriel had accidentally equipped his sorta-vessel with way too much human features. The bunny was squirming out of his fingers, almost to the point of popping out of his hold. Castiel hunched up his shoulders to sort of shield himself from the bunny, but the bunny still clung onto him.

"Gabriel's licking the frosting off me!" sniggered Castiel.

Gabriel raised a brow at that. "I'm doing what?"

Castiel quickly pulled the bunny away from him and it was like he realized that Gabriel was still there with him. "I… I named it Gabriel." he said shyly.

There was no reaction appropriate enough for this situation. Gabriel was caught between being offended or touched by it. However, as the bunny started licking at Castiel's neck and got his brother to laugh so freely, Gabriel smiled fondly and had to settle for the latter.

All of a sudden, a girl in pigtails ran toward them and plucked Gabriel-the-bunny from Castiel.

"My bunny!" exclaimed Castiel as the girl vanished into a crowd.

"No big deal. You can always get another." said Gabriel. Upon turning to his brother, he saw that Castiel was looking at him with dewy, puppy dog eyes. He sighed and wondered when he had become so weak. "Come on."

He snapped Castiel clean and placed him on top of his shoulders to get a better vantage point. Gabriel took them out of the alley and into a noisy marketplace. It was around midnight and yet the place was insanely packed with people; this was going to be a long search.

They dived into every crowd, passed countless stalls, but as the night went on, there was still no sign of their thief. Gabriel was already considering conjuring a fake Gabriel-the-bunny just so they could move on. They still had mail to deliver after all, and the stench of dead fish and yakking stall-owners were getting on his nerves.

A while later, he felt Castiel tugging at his hair. "What?" he asked.

He glanced up to see Castiel pointing at a stall they just passed, one that sold all kinds of interesting masks. The girl was not there, but Gabriel decided to humor his brother and retraced his steps; besides, some of the masks there looked pretty awesome, and there was no shopkeeper around so they could stay as long as they wanted.

Gabriel put Castiel down so he could pick out what he liked. At first, he just blinked and stared at the masks before selecting a butterfly-themed mask. He had trouble figuring out how to put it on so Gabriel had to strap it on him then take him to a mirror to study himself. The verdict was another head-tilt.

"Try these. They're way cooler." said Gabriel, giving him a wild, elaborate bird-themed mask with a beak, wings at the sides and feathers practically exploding everywhere. When the mask was on and Castiel was at the mirror, he let out a cry of shock and fell on his bum.

"Told ya." snickered Gabriel.

He opted to leave his brother alone to do his own thing, which left Gabriel to browse the masks hanging on the highest shelf of the shop. His eyes landed on a brass lion mask; it was an excellent example of craftsmanship, but for kids who do not know any better, it was one scary piece of crap.

Gabriel snuck a glance at Castiel, and when he discovered that he was occupied with examining a turtle mask, Gabriel's mischievous attitude sparked back to life. Quickly, he put on the mask and crept behind his brother until they were almost touching. Gabriel tapped his shoulder, and when Castiel turned around, the expected scream-and-scramble result was met and signified a job well done.

Gabriel took off the mask, both to show Castiel that it was merely him and so that he can laugh properly. True, it was a bit cruel, but Castiel had that coming since that pillow-fight incident, and the look on his face was _priceless_!

His laughter ceased when he realized Castiel was crying. Not like back in the alley, but _really _crying, with big tears rolling down his eyes like they would never end, and he was shaking so hard it looked like he might fall apart any second.

"Take it easy, bro; it's just a joke. There's no need –" Castiel backed away from him the nearer Gabriel got, and the more he distanced himself, Gabriel felt something sink down further into his stomach, like shards of glass.

He felt like a total jackass now; he did not mean to get this far. At the most, he had assumed that Castiel would just be shocked for a few seconds then blow the whole thing off. Gabriel stared at the lion mask he still held in his hand, already having half a mind to incinerate it when suddenly it hit him:

Lion.

Zachariah.

Great; out of all the masks, he just _had_ to pick that one. Gabriel threw the mask away and crouched down as near as he could to his brother. "He's not a fun guy, huh?" he asked, and without even specifying it, Castiel knew that he had caught on and slowly shook his head.

Gabriel sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He needed a different tactic. Searching the area, he found a neighboring shop that sold musical instruments, and he figured that was a good way to redeem himself.

Luckily, the owner also was not there, which was lousy for the town but great for Gabriel. He snagged the least threatening instrument from the shop and slowly approached his brother. "They're called maracas. Humans use 'em to play music." he informed, showing the colorful pair to Castiel. Gabriel gave them a little shake and they made a friendly sound.

Castiel wiped the tears from his eyes as he studied the maracas, suddenly intrigued. Gabriel shook them a couple of more times, and eventually Castiel was comfortable enough to inch closer and reach for them. Gabriel placed them carefully into his hands and waited.

For an extremely long moment, Castiel merely stared at the maracas, as if doubting their harmlessness. Then, he tentatively shook them. When nothing bad happened, he shook them again, and again, and again, until he was smiling and laughing.

Gabriel took that as a good sign. He walked toward the edge of the crowd to continue searching for the bunny, wanting to let Castiel relax before joining him again. That pigtailed twerp was around here somewhere…

His focus was suddenly disrupted by loud crashing noises.

He turned around to see that Castiel had traded the maracas for cymbals, and he looked _extremely _happy with them. Castiel then made a louder, faster succession and his grin became wider.

"Glad you're not in the choir upstairs." chuckled Gabriel.

Castiel giggled and Gabriel was so glad that he was not crying anymore. Castiel was about to clash the cymbals again when he blinked and tipped his head upward. "Smells good." he said.

Gabriel sniffed the air and smelled the warm, tangy aroma as well; it did smell good. He had not realized he spaced out when he felt Castiel pulling at the end of his robe, urging him to let them investigate.

"I thought we're trying to find your bunny?" Gabriel reminded. Castiel had the puppy-eyes on him again, and something that smelled as good as that could only mean food…

"Five minutes tops, got it?" said Gabriel.

Castiel nodded. Gabriel grabbed his brother and they ran.

O_x

The good smell was apparently from a newly-opened noodle stand, and to celebrate its opening, it was giving away one free cup of noodles per customer. And the noodles tasted _way_ better than they smelled.

Gabriel was sitting on a bench, enjoying his noodles. Castiel chose to sit on Gabriel's shoulders, using his head as a table to eat his noodles. Gabriel was fine with that; the only problem was that Castiel was a sloppy eater who kept spilling noodles and other stuff all over his hair.

"One day, I'm teaching you table manners." said Gabriel.

Above him, the slurping sounds continued, undeterred. The next thing Gabriel knew, a cup fell onto his lap and Castiel was virtually bouncing on his shoulders.

"My bunny!" he yelled.

Gabriel instantly stood up and scanned the area. In less than a second, he saw their pigtailed target. He placed Castiel on the ground and they swiftly made their way to her.

"What's the big idea stealing my brother's bunny?" demanded Gabriel. And that was perhaps the weirdest thing coming out of an archangel's mouth.

The girl flinched, holding the bunny tighter. The man beside her – her dad – turned around and regarded his daughter and Gabriel with the utmost worry.

"You stole that? Return it at once!" he exclaimed. He did not sound annoyed though, but concerned and scared. Gabriel did a quick background check on their family and learned that they were poor and had already lost the wife due to taxes. The last thing they wanted now was to cause trouble and be further broken.

Reluctantly, the girl handed Gabriel-the-bunny back to Castiel. "It's supposed to be my younger sister's birthday gift." she whimpered.

As if on cue, a smaller girl peeped out from behind the father's legs; she looked even younger than Castiel, or his sorta-vessel anyway.

"A thousand apologies. I won't let this happen again." said the man, and Gabriel noticed just how tightly he held onto his daughters, like they were everything to him.

Surprisingly, Castiel stepped forward to the girl in pigtails. "How much do you love your sister?" he seriously asked.

"Very much. I'll steal hundreds of other bunnies if I have to." she replied.

Castiel looked like he was thinking really hard about something. "You can keep the bunny." he said.

The whole family, plus Gabriel, was stunned. "Thank you! She'll be so happy!" cried the girl, taking the bunny and hugging Castiel at the same time. Castiel, of course, went completely rigid again.

Gabriel placed his hands on Castiel's shoulders to calm him down as both of them watched the small family have a group hug – older sister hugging little sister, dad hugging the pile of them. It was a nauseating, sentimental mush that Gabriel found himself yearning to happen to his own family.

Finally, the family broke apart and began walking. However, Gabriel pulled the girl in pigtails back before they got too far away.

"Before you run off, I've got another present." he said. He took a bronze Message from his satchel. "This time, it's for you."

Gabriel slipped the Message into her head, an idea for an invention that would help them get the good life. As the girl became dazed from absorbing the Message, the angels left.

O_x

"That was nice of you back there." commented Gabriel.

They were walking several miles outside the city they just left. Technically, Gabriel was the only one walking; Castiel was sitting on his shoulders, and the reason he was there was because he said he was tired. Gabriel did not blame him; they had a long day, and the little guy was probably still mourning the loss of his bunny.

"It seemed right." muttered Castiel hazily. He was holding his pinwheel up in one hand and snuggling his toy zebra in the other. Behind him, he had his wind-chimes attached to a long, sturdy stick, which stuck out of his backpack so whenever Gabriel took a step they would jingle.

Castiel placed his cheek on Gabriel's hair like a pillow. "What's Father like?" he asked.

Gabriel nearly tripped on a rock. What was Dad like? Aside from the cryptic answers, assigning angels a mega-crap-load of crap to do, the occasional 'selective hearing,' locking Himself up in His room all the time by Himself, the tendency to flatten archangels (mainly Gabriel) with a comet the size of Jupiter if they screwed up on a job, practically leaving the angels on their own…

"Dad's great. He'll never disappoint you." said Gabriel.

That seemed to satisfy Castiel since he remained quiet, nuzzling more into Gabriel's hair. For a while, it seemed the peace would last.

Then Gabriel smelled the scent of cake and heard Castiel munching carelessly above him.

TBC

* * *

_Remember Luke? The "You should've seen Luke." Cas mentioned in 4x18? ;)_

_Also, 'Byleist' really _is _Loki's brother!_

_And for those who aren't familiar with the lotus-flowers, look 'em up! :D_


	12. iii

_Ten miles from town and I just broke down_

_Spittin' out smoke on the side of the road_

_I'm out here alone just tryin' to get home_

_To tell you I was wrong but you already know_

_Believe me I won't stop at nothin'_

_To see you so I've started runnin'_

_._

_All that I'm after is a life full of laughter_

_As long as I'm laughing with you_

_._

_Life After You – Daughtry_

* * *

After they had dropped off their sixth Message in Australia, Gabriel realized they were ahead of schedule and decided not to let the extra time go to waste.

"I am uncertain about this." said Castiel.

Gabriel made a '_pfft' _sound as he brought Castiel closer to the building's ledge. "No brother of mine is chickening out on delivering justice. Now give me a battle-cry, Castiel; come on!" he exclaimed, patting/pushing his brother on the back.

Castiel stumbled and made a noise that sounded like a kitten stepping over its own tail.

"We'll work on that later." sighed Gabriel. He handed Castiel an empty ostrich egg (which he swiped and reassembled _after_ the chick had hatched) and watched his brother turn it over worriedly.

"Is this really considered as justice?" Castiel asked.

"Duh! Why do you think I bothered liquefying fifty miles' worth of stinky cheese?" retorted Gabriel, gesturing at the stock he had behind them. He placed both of his hands on Castiel's shoulders and started working on them akin to preparing a boxer to fight. "Remember, you're an angel. You got a lot of heavy juice inside that you should use wisely. And what better way to do that than by totally abusing it?"

His brother had that perplexed head-tilt thing again.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and wordlessly declared to get the first shot. He conjured another empty ostrich egg and peered down the ten-story building to locate a target. It was weird using ostrich eggs as casing, but it was the only convenient thing on Earth that can be filled with something _and _not cause severe bleeding to humans. Besides, ostrich eggs were the biggest variety the planet currently had, and for what they had to do, bigger was better.

After a minute of skimming the crowd below, he found someone promising: a fifty-two-year-old guy who deliberately left behind his wife's mother's box of heirlooms in a blizzard to make room in the cart for booze and opium.

Gabriel let the egg fall, filling it with vomit-like cheese by the time it passed the fifth story, then putting an additional mousetrap or four in there just for kicks.

For one glorious moment, there was nothing better than hearing the splatter-snap-and-scream response. For Gabriel, that would trump any stupid choir they got upstairs.

"Ha! Bull's-eye! Now you do it." he said, pushing Castiel forward until he was pressed against the ledge.

His brother nervously stared at the egg in his hands. "I don't know what – "

"Please, that's a fucking load of bullshit and you damn know it." Gabriel casually interrupted. When he noticed the unexpected silence, he looked down to see that Castiel had perhaps the most appalled expression ever. "What?"

There was at least two more minutes of horrified silence from him. "You just swore at me." replied Castiel quietly.

Gabriel shrugged. "It's actually more of a compliment, but yeah I guess. Someone's gotta introduce you to the real world, might as well be me." he said, smiling and ruffling Castiel's hair; however, Castiel remained ogling him like any disturbed little brother would. "So are you gonna pick a target or what?" asked Gabriel, returning him to the task at hand.

It took a bit longer for Castiel to shake off the shock before he refocused on his egg. "What should I fill it with?" he asked.

"Beats me. Your ammo, your idea, just make it creative." stated Gabriel.

Castiel studied his egg for an excruciatingly long time before turning to the people below. Gabriel watched him peruse the crowd unblinkingly, not that they needed to blink but the sheer concentration the kid had was unnerving, even for angel standards.

Eventually, Castiel dropped the egg onto a thirty-eight-year-old man who crashed parties to steal food and money from the guests, only then to break into the house to get the inheritance of the birthday celebrant.

Sand exploded from the egg upon impact.

"Sand? Come on, you can do better than that." said Gabriel. Castiel lowered his head and shrank into himself, probably ashamed for disappointing an archangel. Gabriel looked down and saw that Castiel's target was still there, disoriented and covered in sand and eggshells; there was still a chance, despite the fact that Castiel was now a nervous wreck.

Suddenly, Gabriel had an idea and leaned down to whisper into his brother's ear, "Imagine Zachariah making an order to wipe out all the bunnies on Earth."

Castiel's eyes practically burst out of their sockets; he got another egg and hurled it at the man with more force than necessary. When the shell broke, strings of firecrackers sprung out and draped the man, followed by two hooks big and heavy enough that when they dug into the man's pants, they pulled them down. The firecrackers began popping all over, causing the pants-less man to awkwardly run around screaming until he bumbled over to a manure-wagon. A second later, one of the firecrackers burnt the latch on the wagon, causing its load to fall onto the man.

Gabriel was unable to turn away from the masterpiece that was his little brother's work. "_Yes! _There we go! That's my bro right there! He shoots, he scores, and the crowd goes _wild_!" he shouted proudly, throwing Castiel over his shoulder and running a victory lap around the roof.

He was impressed; he can conjure almost anything out of thin air but Castiel was not an archangel, so he had to summon real objects from who knew where, and that had taken a lot of work. Still, it warmed Gabriel's (metaphorical) heart when he heard Castiel breaking into squeals of laughter behind him, like a regular kid.

"Where are they going?" Castiel inquired all of a sudden.

Coming to a halt, Gabriel put his brother down so they could check what was going on. There were more people below now, but they were all heading for one specific direction, and they were doing it fast.

"Someplace fucking awesome I bet!" said Gabriel excitedly. He saw that Castiel was staring at him with an appalled expression again. "I am so glad I get to be myself around you." he remarked. He got his brother's hand and with a snap of his fingers, they were on the ground and following the crowd.

"Gabriel, why do people swear?" asked Castiel, and it was a good thing that the other people could not hear him over this much noise because then it would be really awkward.

"'Cuz a lot of 'em don't do it, which makes it fun and exciting, which makes them _wanna _do it." Gabriel answered.

If Castiel had enough room, he would be doing that head-tilt again.

And that was the last thought Gabriel had before pink chalk powder hit him in the face.

For a moment, he felt a surge of wrath go through him because, for one thing, he was an archangel and while he was less uptight with the whole I-demand-respect deal, he just got hit in the face with chalk powder! And the worst part was that it was _pink_!

When he wiped the stuff off him, he saw that the whole city looked like it was being vomited upon by a million rainbows. Literally everywhere, people were throwing colored chalk at each other like their very existence depended on it. Gabriel did a quick sweep of the place and when he found out there was not any threat (other than the obnoxious guy beside him yelling "Hail Prahalada!" over and over), he let out a long, low whistle.

"Is this fucking awesome or what?" Gabriel cheerfully said to Castiel, who looked utterly bewildered at what was going on, but otherwise subtly smiling at the pink chalk on Gabriel's face.

Then it dawned that Castiel was also very clean and chalk-free, which was most likely because he was using Gabriel as a shield against any colorful projectile, not to mention he was too small for the majority of people to see and make him a target.

Not for long.

Gabriel conjured a handful of orange chalk onto his palm and regarded Castiel mischievously. "Bro, say hello to my little friend!"

Castiel may be naïve when it came to… frankly, a lot of things but he knew an attack when he saw one. He just ran out of there like it was the end of the world, nanoseconds before the orange chalk hit the spot where his little ass previously had been. Gabriel gave chase and just like that _it was on_!

Being an archangel had its advantages, such as being able to conjure as much ammo as he needed whenever he wanted, so he just kept hurling chalk even though he was not hitting his brother; it was still fun targeting humans mercilessly. And he could also locate Castiel's Grace easily so Castiel really cannot hide here and he knew it. But damn, even when he was moving on legs the little guy was crazy-fast, which was all the more reason why Gabriel was determined to nail him.

After going through the ten miles of crowd and color-hysteria, Gabriel finally got him on the back, although he was a tad disappointed to see that there were already a load of colors splattered on Castiel, which meant that he did not get the first hit. Then again, when Gabriel looked down at himself, he had gotten a lot more additional hits during the chase.

Angels did not breathe, but Castiel seemed absolutely breathless when he stopped and faced him. However, the large grin he had on put Gabriel at ease as he picked him up.

"We really should get back to work," said Gabriel. Castiel's shoulders gradually slumped and his grin was replaced by pleading puppy-eyes. Gabriel sighed in surrender; he would never hear the end of it from Raphael if he found out that he had become a softie. "I got to hit a hundred and fifty-seven of these suckers. How many did _you_ get?" he asked challengingly.

Castiel blinked. "What makes you so sure I hit people?" he calmly replied.

"Because if you didn't, that'd make you a wuss for not taking out easy target. And I don't have wusses for brothers." said Gabriel good-humoredly.

Castiel lowered his head a bit and Gabriel could see the slightest smile creeping up. "A hundred and fifty-five." he murmured.

Gabriel felt his eyebrows go up. "Wow, just down by two. Tell ya what, we'll settle for a tie. Just nail two more saps then we're outta here. That sound good?" he asked.

His brother nodded. He then reached into his pocket and his hand emerged with blue chalk powder, which he promptly threw at Gabriel's face.

It took a couple of seconds for Gabriel to register what happened. Yeah, he really should have seen that one coming; at least it was better than pink. Opening his eyes, he saw Castiel trying, but failing as always, to suppress his giggles.

"Alright, wise guy, you got a lucky shot. Let's see you get that on someone else where the sun don't shine." said Gabriel, putting his brother down.

Castiel looked around, but it was apparent that both of them had run off to the very edge of the 'battlefield' and now it appeared that the crowd had moved on. Crap, now they really had to look for someone, like a straggler.

Gabriel scoured the area ("The things I do for family," he mentally sighed) and eventually pinpointed a man hiding behind a barrel three buildings away from them. Snapping himself clean, Gabriel turned to tell Castiel of his next victim.

The only problem was that Castiel was gone.

This time, Gabriel was unable to hold down a sigh of aggravation. Why must he keep disappearing on him? It was a good thing the kid had yet to learn how to mask his signature; otherwise, this would take a while. The moment Gabriel honed in on Castiel's location, he snapped his fingers and traced it.

When he reappeared at the outskirts of a temple, he saw that Castiel had already selected a target – a woman who was sitting down lotus-style and had her back turned to them – and was preparing to fire. However, when Gabriel realized who it was, and discovered that his brother was oblivious to his would-be prey's identity, he lunged for Castiel, hoping to stop him before he threw the chalk.

Unfortunately, he was too late.

Gabriel quickly snatched up Castiel just before the jets of fire hit him. "I hope you're happy 'cuz you just pissed off a Hindu goddess." he hissed. Still, it was not entirely Castiel's fault; that chick had one wicked cloaking spell over her that had Gabriel impressed.

"_Who _DARES _to disturb me from my meditation?_" Kali shrieked.

For all Castiel's worth, he was trying his hardest not to cower in fear, but it was obvious that he was close to burrowing his head into Gabriel's robe. Gabriel, meanwhile, put his game-face on and stood his ground as Kali approached them, still very much aflame.

Kali stopped two feet in front of them, and she probably figured out they were not human since she actually turned the heat up. "The small one seems guilty." she snarled.

Castiel whimpered and squirmed in Gabriel's hold. "Could've been anyone, hot stuff." defended Gabriel smoothly.

Somehow, the fact that Castiel was still covered head-to-toe in every colored chalk imaginable did not sell it to Kali.

"Fine. He did it, whatever. But cut him some slack, he's just a kid. I mean, weren't _you _young and utterly clueless once?" said Gabriel casually.

"You have exactly five seconds before I roast you like a pig." Kali seethed.

Acting on instincts, Gabriel did what any rational being with a mountain of power would do: he pulled Castiel as far back as he could then leaned in to kiss Kali on the lips.

And just like that, it was as if all the chocolate in the world melted into his mouth and poured onto his Grace.

When they broke apart, the silence that came afterward still buzzed with… whatever was left over from the last five seconds.

"What was that?" inquired Kali, no longer on fire.

Gabriel threw a noncommittal shrug. "Call it a peace-offering." he said, smirking. He remembered he was still holding Castiel awkwardly somewhat behind him and placed his bewildered brother down in the middle of him and Kali. "Now, bro, say you're sorry to her." he added.

"I apologize." said Castiel, a hint of a squeak in his voice.

Kali towered over him and gave Castiel the most piercing, unyielding inspection ever; it was almost enough to make Gabriel twitch. It was possible that she would lash out then barbeque him on the spot, and Castiel knew it.

"Your brother throws well." said Kali eventually, running her hand through Castiel's hair, and if they were not undercover right now Castiel would be slumping his wings out in pure relief. Kali straightened up and began walking away. "And your so-called 'peace-offering' needs work; it was weak." she added without turning around.

For Gabriel, that was the equivalent of having his Grace stabbed with a fork. "_Weak_? Babe, that was a solid ten outta ten right there! Okay, eight at least, but I don't do 'weak'." he exclaimed as he marched beside Kali.

"Congratulations, now you have. And don't call me babe." Kali indifferently replied.

"Hey, you associate me with weak, I can call you whatever I want. Babe." he said, and the last word made Kali stop and consider him with an expression that was both unemotional and peeved. "Of course, ifyou can dish out something better, _maybe _we can work out a tiny compromise – "

He was cut off when Kali knocked him to the ground and pinned him there with her hands, all four of them. Gabriel lied there with his cheek pressing hard against the dirt for a while; he made an experimental little struggle but it was clear that he was not going anywhere.

"And here I thought you couldn't be any more pathetic." whispered Kali into his ear. Gabriel's vision was kind of limited at the moment, but it seemed like Kali was about to do something, only to stop.

"Please don't hurt my brother." said Castiel.

The distraction allowed Kali's grip to slacken enough for Gabriel to retaliate and push Kali to the nearest pillar of the temple. The impact of hitting the carved stone was so intense that chunks of the ceiling fell off and her second pair of arms jolted back to wherever she usually kept them. As the tables were officially turned, Gabriel flashed her a smirk.

"Like I said, I don't do weak, Kali." he said.

Kali stared at him, undeterred and impassive. "You know me but not the other way around. So do you have a name or do I have to label you 'imbecile' forever?" she responded.

There was the slightest moment when a hint of tenseness ran through Gabriel's form, something that happened every time his name was asked. "Call me Loki. Although 'awesome' works too." he replied lightheartedly.

"Cute." said Kali. "Now back off before I pulverize your bones."

Gabriel rolled his eyes but did so anyway. "Not much for salsa then, are you?" he quipped.

As Kali brushed herself off, Gabriel noticed his brother cautiously making his way over to them, as if expecting another scuffle to occur at any time. He chuckled and gestured for Castiel to come over, assuring him that everything was fine. Castiel ran fast to him and adhered himself to his leg with so much force that Gabriel went unsteady for a second. The little guy was definitely getting freaked out about what was happening; Gabriel tousled his hair more gradually than usual in an effort to calm him down.

"I'm going to the river to get this muck off me. You can clean your brother there too if you want." said Kali, exiting the temple. And it was only then that Gabriel saw where Castiel's blue chalk had hit her: at the nape of her neck, which went farther down her back after the short fray they had.

It later registered to him that Kali had given them the closest thing to an invitation, the second right after he noted that Kali was starting to take off her clothes.

He looked down at Castiel, and for once, he was thankful that his brother looked like a rainbow had coughed him out. Gabriel swiftly carried him into his arms and followed Kali to the river.

"But I don't need – " Castiel began.

"Shut up. You're taking a bath." said Gabriel.

O_x

"Brother, this is really unnecessary. I can always clean myself in an instant." said Castiel. It was hard to tell whether he was simply stating a fact or he was saying that in an attempt to preserve what dignity he had left.

Probably because Gabriel had stripped him down to his underwear and made him sit on the shallow part of the river like a little duck. Probably.

Luckily (or maybe hopefully), they were out of Kali's earshot and there were not any people around so that should at least save what self-esteem his brother had to begin with. But they were just near enough for Gabriel to check out Kali's… entirety without being too suspicious.

"Gabriel, I feel odd like this." Castiel piped up.

"That's how first times always start out. You'll be fine." assured Gabriel, glancing at Kali every three words.

Castiel shifted in the water. "I don't think I'm getting clean." he said.

Sighing, Gabriel came to the conclusion that his attention will be an unsatisfying two-way street unless he would take care of his brother first. He looked down at Castiel and saw that the part of the water he was in was tinted with bleary colors, but he was still far from clean. Gabriel snapped his fingers and a whopping load of shampoos, soaps and bubble-baths appeared by the bank. Sure, he could do this. He watched humans do it a dozen times whenever he passed by a river or a pool; bathing his brother would be a piece of cake.

Now which of these bath-crap should he put first?

"Aw, to hell with it." he muttered. He grabbed everything and dumped them into Castiel's spot. After sneaking a glimpse at Kali and making sure that she was not watching them, Gabriel dipped his index finger in the water and spun it until a small whirlpool appeared. When he took his finger out, the whirlpool kept spinning and spinning and getting bigger…

Eventually, it got so big that Castiel got sucked into it; he cried out a bit before the growing foam enveloped him and muffled the sounds. The whirlpool lasted for about ten seconds before it dissipated and Castiel's dark, free-of-chalk hair surfaced from the foam. Gabriel actually had to sift through the mass of bubbles before he unearthed the rest of his brother, whose pale skin only had a couple of blotches of chalk left.

"Bet you're glad your undies didn't wash away, huh?" Gabriel joked upon seeing Castiel's stunned, 'holy-crap-did-you-just-did-that-to-me?' expression. "How're you doing, bro?"

Castiel opened his mouth and was about to say something when he burped out bubbles instead. He clamped his mouth shut with his hands in shock as Gabriel just stared and strived not to laugh because _that was simply priceless_! Unfortunately for Castiel, it appeared as though there was a lingering, bitter aftertaste in his mouth and he had to spit out some pinkish-blue liquid that Gabriel suspected used to be a bar of soap.

"That's gotta suck. Here," Gabriel opened his palm and revealed a ball of chocolate.

Castiel eyed it distrustfully.

"Just eat the chocolate. Please?" added Gabriel, and as an archangel that was the last time he was ever going to use that word in a nice way.

Still no movement from Castiel.

"Do I have to swear again before you eat this?" Gabriel asked exasperatedly.

That finally got his brother to extend an arm and reach out for the chocolate. Castiel took a tentative bite out of the chocolate and hardly a second passed when his mouth hung open and his eyes looked as if they would explode out of their sockets.

"Whoah, hey, what's wrong? Swallowed a bottle of shampoo there?" laughed Gabriel, albeit hiding the worry in his tone.

His brother slowly shook his head before gulping down the tiny bit of chocolate. "I like chocolate very much." said Castiel, smiling. He proceeded to eat the rest of the treat.

Gabriel tipped his head back and sighed. "Jeez, give a guy a heart attack, why don't you?" he mumbled.

Castiel tilted his head. "Why would I give someone a heart attack?" he inquired.

Instead of humoring his brother, Gabriel stood up and started navigating the large stones to Kali.

"Brother, wait!"

Gabriel turned to see his brother half out of the water. "Can you please give me more chocolate?" Castiel asked timidly.

"Can't you just zap some on your own? You did it with the cake last night." Kali could be done with her bath any minute. If Gabriel was not in such a rush, he would have entertained his brother using a nicer tone.

His brother shrank back a little but, apparently, the desire for sweets overpowered the fact that an archangel got annoyed with him. "I summoned the cake from Greece. I don't know where to summon the chocolate." replied Castiel.

"If I tell you where to get the nearest chocolate – " Gabriel started.

"No. I want _your_ chocolate. Please, brother?" begged Castiel.

Gabriel refused to look at him, because if he did he would see those blue puppy-dog eyes again and he really did not know how much more of that he can handle. "Alright, fine! But after I give you your chocolates, no more bugging me, okay?" he sighed.

At Castiel's nod, Gabriel snapped his fingers and a large bowl of chocolates appeared, floating to Castiel on a piece of wood. His brother actually beamed at the sight before stuffing his hands, then his face, into the bowl; Gabriel vaguely wondered if the sweet tooth gig ran in the family.

"That's not healthy for him."

Gabriel's head whipped to the left to see a fully-clothed Kali observing them from atop a boulder. So much for sneaking off in time and having a bit of fun.

"Don't worry your pretty little ass, he'll be perfectly fine. Besides, he needs the energy, right, bro?" Gabriel called out.

Briefly, Castiel looked up from the bowl and blinked at him, which was as much of a response as he could get.

"Ah, kids. What're you gonna do?" said Gabriel in a laidback attitude.

Kali sent a stream of fire racing across the water, incinerating the bowl of chocolates. Gabriel and a chocolate-smeared Castiel looked up at her with a mix of shock and indignation, which Kali returned with a glare. "Your brother fights, doesn't he?" Kali asked.

Gabriel and Castiel spared a glance at one another. "I'm still learning." answered Castiel warily.

"Yeah, and when he's done, he'll kick the ass of anybody who destroys chocolate." warned Gabriel, because as hot as Kali was, _no one _should mess with angels and their chocolate.

Kali crossed her arms and sat down. "As a warrior-in-training, he shouldn't be exposed to such awful sustenance. He needs the best to build strength, speed and endurance. And as a child, he needs to grow well with an unpolluted body, physical as well as spiritual."

When Gabriel looked at his brother, his face was still covered in chocolate. "So the physical body needs a little work, but his spiritual one's squeaky-clean." he said.

She gave him one of those 'I-won't-even-dignify-that-with-a-response' glares.

Then, Gabriel heard what had to be the third most annoying voice ever in his existence:

"Kali, _baby!_ How you doin'?" drawled a newcomer. He had a head that mostly resembled a lion rather than a man, something that caused Castiel to hide behind a rock.

"Hiranyakashipu." Kali greeted without looking at him.

Hiranyakashipu chortled and wrapped an arm around her. "Aww, well now don't you make the cutest water chimp ever. Who's a cute little water chimp? You are! Yes, you are!" he coddled, nuzzling his nose at her. A second later, he was energetically making out with her.

Gabriel admitted that he did not know Kali enough, but even he knew that this was something she would never tolerate, especially not without a fight. His hunch was justified when he saw Kali _trying_ to escape from the guy's grip.

He tapped Hiranyakashipu's shoulder. "Uh, hey there!" Gabriel half-introduced himself and half-intervened. Just as he planned, the two broke apart and stared at him incredulously. Then, Hiranyakashipu punched him in the gut twice.

"What was that for?" exclaimed Gabriel, because that really _hurt_!

"Those were for touching and talking to me." snarled Hiranyakashipu. He punched him again; Gabriel stumbled. "That's for interrupting me and Kali." Another punch, causing his satchel to fall to the ground. "And that's for being new around here."

Gabriel spat out a trickle of blood from his vessel's lips. He was so going to cream this bastard!

As if sensing his thoughts, Hiranyakashipu snickered. "Go ahead, have a strike at me. I'm _indestructible_!" he bragged.

"He's right. He's been given a boon." said Kali grudgingly.

"And I can do whatever I want and no one's there to stop me." Hiranyakashipu pressed on arrogantly. Great, as if the planet needed more pricks who went overboard with power.

"Funny, I thought Prahlada posed as a threat. Isn't that what the whole celebration in the city was about?" interjected Kali. And _there _was the take-no-crap fighter attitude Gabriel liked.

For a few seconds, Hiranyakashipu stared intently at her before slapping her hard. "Isn't she adorable? She thinks she's making sense with words. Silly dame." he chuckled, pinching the cheek he slapped. He pulled her into another make-out session; this time, he sprouted an extra pair of arms for more groping action. It was a good thing Castiel was behind a rock.

Gabriel separated them with ease. "Alright pal, I think she gets the message. If she wants to have the absolute worst excuse of an intercourse in her life, she'd come straight to you." he said.

The rage Hiranyakashipu displayed was really animalistic. He swung at Gabriel's face but this time Gabriel was faster and smoothly dodged it. Stunned, Hiranyakashipu tried again, yet Gabriel simply leaned slightly to one side to avoid it. As Hiranyakashipu glowered at him in shock, Gabriel just smirked.

"I don't have time for this." grumbled Hiranyakashipu as he stomped away.

Gabriel stuck out his tongue at him once he was gone. "Swell guy. Reminds me of someone back home." he remarked.

"You shouldn't have." said Kali.

"No big. I do this outta the – "

"No really, you shouldn't have." Kali cut in, walking away to the opposite direction.

Typical.

Gabriel noticed Castiel gradually wading out of the water now that the commotion was gone. His brother was looking at him expectantly, and Gabriel winked at him.

"I guess it's time to work on a side-project." he said.

O_x

"Loki, this is insane." said Kali.

"Exactly! Cool, huh?" said Gabriel.

They were hiding behind a building, an achievement that had taken Gabriel five hours of persuading Kali to tag along. But it would be worth it. He got the details from Kali, he told Castiel to go wherever he wanted and the trap was set for Hiranyakashipu; the dick was going to get what was coming to him (and this could get Gabriel into Kali's good side).

Basically, Hiranyakashipu was going to round the corner and trigger a landmine nicknamed 'Heaven's Wrath,' which would trigger a lot more mines from every direction. Indestructible Lion-head will be cut down to size for sure.

Just then, movement was heard beyond the building. There was a presence approaching and it was definitely full of power. Once the being was close enough, Gabriel snapped his fingers to get the power up and going and let hell break loose.

Frankly, he expected a lot of things… but a child-like scream amongst the explosions was not one of them.

Gabriel stopped everything and went around to check what was going on. What he saw made him want to barf his wings repeatedly: "Oh no. Castiel!"

He did not care that he had just said his brother's real name out loud in front of Kali; Castiel was sprawled on the ground, scorched and bleeding heavily. Apparently, Gabriel had mistaken Castiel's energy as Hiranyakashipu's, and he just wanted to kill himself for being stupid.

As Gabriel ran to him, he noticed Castiel holding a satchel close to his chest – _his _satchel – and he realized that he had forgotten it at the river. Castiel was probably trying to return it like a good little brother; poor kid must have searched high and low since Gabriel did not tell him where he went. But the real kicker was that, throughout the explosions, Castiel had used his entire body to protect the satchel, which consequentially exposed himself to the whole blast.

"Castiel, are you alright?" Gabriel frantically asked, and that was a really stupid question. Castiel just had a taste of pure archangel power, meaning that his true form got more damage than his physical.

Castiel's body was trembling from the sheer effort of sitting up; blood continued to flow from his wounds and it seemed that his healing was not working. When he lifted his head and saw Gabriel, Castiel let out a cry and started backing away from him.

"Brother, please, it's me." said Gabriel gently. He could practically hear his brother's panicked thoughts: _'ThatwasGabriel'?Ishemadatme?Ishould'vegiventhesatchelsooner,Ishould'''twanttobepunsihed.I'.Getawaygetawaygetawaygetaway!'_

Gabriel slowly reached for Castiel's arm; however, the moment his fingertips brushed against skin, a spark flared up, leftover power from the explosions, and Castiel immediately drew his singed arm back with a frightened yelp. The momentary shock caused Castiel's wings to materialize for less than a second, but Gabriel saw that one of his wings was one nudge away from being broken. Castiel was crying now.

"I am so sorry! Brother, I – "

A terrified Castiel took off before Gabriel could finish, taking the satchel with him.

This was not happening. His brother was severely injured and scared of him and he could be anywhere on the planet!

A light and warm hand landed on his shoulder. Gabriel turned to see Kali considering him with unusually compassionate eyes.

"Go after him." she said softly.

She did not need to tell him twice.

O_x

Castiel dropped into a rainforest. It hurt to move, let alone fly; his healing was blocked by the power of the explosions. He should return to Heaven; there was no way he could survive on Earth for long. He had never been so scared in his life.

Gabriel almost killed him. He could not go back to him, ever. Castiel felt the tears coming up again when he looked back on the things they did together; he thought Gabriel liked him, he thought he finally had someone who treated him like a real brother.

His eyes found Gabriel's satchel he accidentally brought with him. Castiel thought about leaving it behind since delivering messages was not his duty, and there was no way he was going to Gabriel. But the last Message was the gold, the most vital that will change mankind and possibly everything; this was his Father's biggest Will.

Castiel decided that he will deliver the gold Message, for his Father and the humans. He slung the satchel over his shoulder and hissed in pain at how it weighed down on him. Already, he can feel the gold Message inside gradually sipping at his Grace. Castiel faltered when he straightened up, both from his injuries and the Message, but forced himself to recover and flew.

After a while, his wing was hurting again and he had to land on the coast of an island to rest. When the pain was bearable, he took off again. It did not take long for his wing to sear with pain again, forcing Castiel to stop in a mango grove, then an empty house, a hillside, on top of a tower…

Eventually, he crash-landed near the base of a snowy mountain in the evening. His mind was so clouded with pain that he could not get his body to move accordingly. When he opened his eyes, he saw three men huddling by a fire; maybe they could help treat his injuries.

One of the men noticed Castiel and smiled. "Look what we have here, boys. A little bug to squish!"

That was when the man's eyes turned black and Castiel flinched. They were all demons.

"Let's see how far his guts splatter!" said another as they sauntered over to him.

Castiel stiffly, shakily stood up and desperately thought of a way to defend himself. His wing still hurt too much to fly, he had no weapons and he had yet to learn exorcism. Then, he remembered what Gabriel did to scare the maenads away; he could do that.

Once the demons were halfway to him, Castiel gathered his bearings and flashed his wings as menacingly as he could at them. The demons were shocked; for a while, Castiel believed that he had a chance of escaping, but then the demons cracked similar feral grins and continued approaching him.

"Ooh, our bug's actually a butterfly!" exclaimed the third demon. "Wings first, guts after."

Before Castiel could even try running away, the demons pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. They punched, kicked and clawed at him, and Castiel already could barely move with the inflictions of his previous injuries. Everything hurt so much he wondered if he was going to die.

Suddenly, Castiel heard a ripping sound that did not come from his robe or skin. He pulled his bloody arms away from his face to see that the satchel had been torn open and the gold Message rolled onto the ground. The demons became more interested in it and abandoned Castiel to study it.

However, the second they touched the Message, there was screaming and a blinding golden light; when darkness returned, there were ashes where the demons once stood. Castiel remained on the ground, thunderstruck and grateful at how holy the golden Message had to be to be able to disintegrate demons. Unfortunately, now that the Message was removed from the satchel's protection, plus the fact that there was no other living creature around, there was nothing to stop it from quickly sucking away Castiel's life force.

The first siphon knocked him back down onto the snow; his surroundings were spinning and tilting for some reason and it was like there was an elephant sitting on him. Castiel felt weak, could not think well, but at least the process was painless, numbing actually. It was a struggle to remember that he still had to deliver the gold Message, and even more of a struggle to lift himself up. He had to do this; he cannot let his Father's plans go to waste.

After a long time, Castiel finally managed to stand up, which just made the world spin more dramatically that he had to lean on the mountain to keep himself upright. Yet as seconds passed, more and more of his energy was sucked away, and the scenery alternated from tilting uncontrollably to fading to black. Nonetheless, Castiel made out that the satchel was destroyed and could no longer contain the gold Message, and his backpack was not fabricated from the same material so it would be useless as well; that meant he had to hold the Message.

Once he had the Message, he pushed himself off as hard as he could.

He barely reached the clouds when the Message siphoned so much out of him at once that his wings failed him completely and he plowed into the snow on the cliff of the mountain. His backpack exploded upon impact and its contents went everywhere.

Castiel could not feel his wings anymore, and his Grace was rapidly approaching that point. He could not feel his wounds that were so agonizing mere minutes ago, he could not feel anything except the cold. He could not move, his consciousness was blurring and so was his sight. It was so freezing… why was he freezing? Why was it so hard to keep his eyes open?

He felt something by his head. Castiel peeled an eye open and saw that, beside the gold Message, was his toy zebra. With what strength remained, he pulled the zebra to his chest and snuggled into it; at least now he would not be so alone.

"Ga'riel…" he feebly called out.

O_x

"Castiel? _Castiel!" _Gabriel may not be able to track his brother, but he could still trace the path of the gold Message. Soon, he found himself in front of a mountain in the middle of winter, and it looked like a blizzard was coming in a few minutes.

Gabriel was scouring the area when he spotted a pile of ashes nearby; from the lingering smell of sulfur, he knew they used to be demons. That caused his eyes to widen. If demons were around, then Castiel could be in more danger than he thought; he had to find him _now!_

Trailing the final length of the gold Message's trail, Gabriel touched down virtually at the top of the mountain, where the blizzard had already arrived and totally unmerciful. This was bad, if Castiel was here in his poor condition…

He stopped thinking and grimly focused on finding his brother. Castiel was here, he was sure of it, but Gabriel still could not sense him, and the gold Message was not under his radar anymore either. Please, Dad, let him be fine.

All of a sudden, he heard something tinkling faraway, and in a place like this, it was the best lead he got. Gabriel walked through the snowstorm head-on; the tinkling became more pronounced and eventually he located the source: wind-chimes hanging on a protruding rock.

_Castiel's_ wind-chimes.

And that was when he saw him.

"Castiel!" Gabriel ran to his brother and wasted no time in digging him out. Castiel was unconscious and so far under snow that it was almost impossible for him to be spotted, but he had him now and everything was going to be alright.

By the time Gabriel cradled him in his arms, he noticed that Castiel's skin had gone completely blue from the cold; he was not breathing, his heart was not pounding and there was hardly anything left of his Grace. At the corner of his eye, Gabriel noticed that the gold Message was still sucking on Castiel's energy and he brusquely kicked it away in anger.

"Hey, come on, bro. Up and at 'em!" said Gabriel, shielding his brother from the winds. After a minute of no response, Gabriel let heat and a bit of his Grace trickle into Castiel.

"Come on; come on!" Gabriel was shaking him now, but the only movement Castiel showed was his head lolling back and forth. He was still blue, his heart still was not beating.

Gritting his teeth, Gabriel pressed his palm on Castiel's forehead and healed his wounds plus his wing, thinking that his brother's Grace could be more focused on waking him up, because Gabriel refused to accept Castiel was dead. He put in more warmth and Grace into him but he knew he could not keep this up for long or else Castiel's form would explode from overload.

After several minutes, it was obvious that his brother would not wake up. He was too late.

Gabriel held Castiel close to him as he trembled with grief. "I'm so sorry." he wept. He was the big brother, he was supposed to take care of him and he screwed up big time. He was so sorry; given the chance, Gabriel would take his place in an instant.

"'rother,"

Gabriel went rigid with disbelief and joy; it was barely above a whisper but that was Castiel's voice. Right on cue, Castiel was weakly coughing out some melted snow down Gabriel's back. "Easy, kid; I gotcha." he cooed, running a hand down Castiel's back comfortingly.

"'m s'rry." slurred Castiel.

"Don't; I'm the ass here, _I'm _sorry." said Gabriel, pulling his brother down and wrapping him into a hug; he was still blue but he was alive!

"Cold." he mumbled.

"Yeah, I know. I'm getting you back to Heaven pronto." said Gabriel as he stood up.

Castiel faintly shook his head. "Message."

The gold Message was precariously on the edge of the cliff and losing its glow fast; one gust of wind was all it would take for it to plummet.

"Right now, I care more about my brother than any stupid mail." said Gabriel.

Castiel shook his head again and burrowed himself into Gabriel's robe, as if trying to get his _own_ message across. And that was when Gabriel realized that, if he took Castiel home now, then all his efforts of making it this far with the gold Message would have been in vain.

"Alright, we'll make it quick." Gabriel sighed. He picked up the gold Message and placed it in the back pocket of his robe; predictably, the Message was siphoning _his _energy now, but better him than Castiel. Afterward, Gabriel picked up his brother's things as well, though he placed the zebra next to Castiel as a sort of pillow. "If you wanna know, you were going the right way. Good job; I'm proud of you." said Gabriel fondly.

Castiel weakly smiled and leaned into him more. "Who's the message for?" he asked.

Gabriel smirked as he gingerly ruffled Castiel's hair. "Some virgin that's supposed to give birth to the 'Savior of Mankind' or something." he replied, and even when he was near-frozen, Castiel was giving him that head-tilt. "I don't get it either. But hey, you'll get to see history in the making. And maybe if the virgin sees how adorable you are, she might be more inclined to take up the job." he laughed.

Gabriel took flight, albeit choosing to fly more gently. There were fireworks going off in the distance, and for the moment, they could pretend it was for them.

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_Holy crap. This. Is. DONE! Omigosh, someone get the whiskey!_

_FYI, the chalk-throwing thing was Holi :)_

_Okay guys, I'm gonna take a few weeks off from writing this because I got some other 'real-world' stuff I need to take care of that I've been seriously neglecting for the past couple of months. I'll still work on NTTB (and perhaps write a new story with somewhat shorter chapters) as much as I can, but expect posts from me to become slightly less often._

_So with that, I leave you guys with the clue for the next angel, who'll have the letters E, R and L in his name. And as a treat, I'll throw in a clue for the plot. Notice that I always put some lines of a song at the start of each chapter? For the next story, expect a song from Mulan and that oh-so-famous song on 4x06 XD_

_Btw… anyone saw the recent ep? _It kicked ass! _There was whump!Cas, I am very happy! _:D_ (Although now I doubt I'll be putting Rachel in here, or Virgil – I'm sorry, I just can't find anything plot-worthy from the very short scenes they had o_o)_

_Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to ride my alpaca into the sunset! 8D_


	13. Learning to Fight from Uriel

Whoever the username 'Her' is, _damn_ you got it right spot on! That's so freaky-awesome! :D

I throw a mountain of confetti at you! A mountain. Of confetti. 8D

* * *

_Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within_

_Once you find your center, you are sure to win_

_You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot_

_And you haven't got a clue_

_Somehow I'll make a man out of you_

_._

_I'll Make a Man Out of You ~ Mulan_

* * *

After a tremendously busy day of cleaning the lower region of Heaven (and now he knew what would happen if he scared a bunch of cupids enough to make them cry), Uriel was ready to unwind, and for him, there was no better place to do that than at one of the training chambers.

Heaven had numerous training chambers, which was so because it had to satisfy the sheer number of soldiers and prepare them for battle as much as possible. Though it was not an official law (yet), each garrison had assigned itself its own training chamber, primarily to familiarize each member to their comrades' unique fighting styles.

And that was why Uriel never chose to practice at his garrison's training chamber; he just loved having the element of surprise with him, and that sense of unpredictability gave him power.

He picked the training chamber tucked away at the farthest corner of Heaven, so distant that even the mighty booms of his punches would be unheard to anyone but him. Besides, all of Heaven already knew how hard he could punch so there was no longer the need to prove himself.

Landing, the sight that greeted him was of expected: a wide array of practice weapons dangled under a gigantic glass dome just after the entrance, and as he trained his eyes forward, there was a near-infinite expanse of a field littered with obstacles and practice demon-dummies. But otherwise, the whole place was empty.

That was until he heard some scuffling and wing-flaps in the distance.

Irked that someone else had beaten him here, Uriel snatched one of the practice-blades above and hunted for the origin of the noise. Training chambers was equipped with varying levels; the further an angel went, the more difficult the environment and task will be. Fortunately for Uriel, he did not even need to go past the second level.

He discovered that the culprit was actually one of the members of his garrison, the youngest one, in fact: Castiel.

Uriel had never understood him, and he especially never understood how he and Castiel were even allocated the same garrison. As much as Uriel had observed, their garrison was comprised of some of the strongest and most promising in all of Heaven. They were fierce, tough, powerful and fearless while Castiel… was not.

Still, it was interesting to see him here. Uriel decided to watch him from the shadows; maybe Castiel had a chance of proving his worth.

Castiel had a practice-blade with him, and just ten feet beyond him was a practice demon-dummy, which had all the ferocity of a sleepy, chubby panda. The dummy slumped forward as it 'initiated' the fight, to which Castiel responded with a flinch and a step backward.

"What a weakling." Uriel thought.

When the demon-dummy did not move anymore, Castiel extended his practice-blade and ran toward his target. However, as he was about to strike, the demon-dummy sent out a small psychic wave that made Castiel bounce off its personal space and land in a tangle of light and feathers. After a few seconds, he got up and tried the attack again, albeit the result was the same. This went on for another four attempts, each one further making Castiel look like a ruffled baby bird that plopped out of the nest, which was easier to imagine since his wings were still mostly down.

Eventually, he decided to take on a different approach. He fluttered until he was behind the demon-dummy; he crouched down, suddenly looking like a naïve kitten on its first hunt, then pounced.

It was a good tackle… if only the demon-dummy did not move a few inches to the side and therefore avoided being hit.

Castiel crash-tumbled to the ground and landed with a _poof _on his own fluffy feathers; somewhere along the way, his practice-blade got knocked out of his hold. Uriel shook his head at the pitiful sight; it was hard to believe this sorry excuse of a soldier was part of his garrison, let alone one of his brothers. Having had seen enough, he made his way to Castiel.

Uriel had to push soft, clumsy wings aside in order for him to find his brother, and it was like he was trying to get Castiel out of layers of sand what with all the feathers that kept falling back into place. Soon, he located Castiel, who was lying on his back and staring at him inquisitively.

"Hello, brother." he calmly said.

"Castiel, what in Father's name are you doing?" demanded Uriel.

"I'm practicing my fighting skills." he replied.

"You call those _fighting skills? _You fight like a human!" Uriel exclaimed, gesturing with his hands. In turn, Castiel's wings fell back on him and buried him.

"Is that a good thing?" came Castiel's muffled voice.

Uriel glared, in spite of his brother being obscured. "We are _above_ humans, in every way! You should know that!" he growled.

The pile of feathers shifted before Castiel sat up, his appearance more ruffled than ever. "So fighting like a human is… not good?" he said.

At that moment, Uriel just wanted to hit himself. "Fight me. Show me just how _skilled _you are." he sneered.

"But I don't want to fight you." said Castiel.

Uriel summoned Castiel's practice-blade and shoved it so hard into his brother's hands that Castiel fell on his back again at the sheer force. "Do it."

After a while, Uriel's fiery glare won over Castiel's wide-eyed, uncertain gaze and the younger angel pushed himself up. At once, Uriel leapt back a good distance away and held out his own practice-blade, ready to strike. Castiel was stunned at the movement, which was a sure sign that he really did not have much experience with these situations. It later dawned on him on what was going on and he frantically copied Uriel's actions.

They stood there for a while, facing each other off, waiting for the first move. When Uriel realized that Castiel was either too scared or too oblivious to make the first move, he gladly poised his practice-blade in offense and went straight for him.

A look of pure terror passed through Castiel's face and he barely managed to remember to dodge in time. Uriel left a crater on the spot where Castiel had previously been in a moment ago.

Disoriented from the aftershock, Castiel failed to notice Uriel looming over him until it was too late and he 'stabbed' a tip of his wing. Practice-weapons were made never to brutally injure or kill any angel, but they hurt almost like their authentic versions, which was why Castiel was unable to hold back a pained squeal.

It was evident that Castiel thought the fight was over; however, to Uriel, the fight was never over until one of them was knocked down. To be fair to his brother, he threw away his own practice-blade as well. For a second, a look of relief and curiosity entered Castiel's expression, only to be quickly shattered when Uriel initiated hand-to-hand combat.

His poor brother had no chance at all and was quickly knocked onto his back. Castiel had taken a lot of punches, kicks and jabs whereas Uriel remained without a scratch.

"Pathetic." scoffed Uriel.

"I'm sorry." said Castiel.

Uriel made a disgusted '_hmmph_' sound as he gathered their practice-blades. "How are you ever going to battle any monsters like this? You need a teacher. Someone who's strong and brave and hard to knock down." he said.

There was silence in the chamber for a while, broken by the sound of Castiel uneasily getting up to a sitting position. "Will _you_ teach me?" he asked.

Uriel whipped around to face Castiel, and Castiel cringed at the sudden penetrating glare locked on him. Then, Uriel's expression gradually softened and he gave his brother a smirk. "I thought you'd never ask." he smugly said.

At that, Castiel scrambled to get up and half-approached, half-fluttered to Uriel. "You'll teach me? Really?" he inquired, his blue eyes bright and gleaming and an excited grin on his face. He looked like he was about to give him what had been recently termed as a 'hug' but Uriel stepped away just in time.

"Stop that." said Uriel.

"Stop what?"

"All that smiling and... and niceness. It's disturbing."

Instantly, Castiel's expression became impassive, although the too-wide eyes were still present. That was an interesting advantage; being the young angel that he was, Castiel was very much susceptible to following any order coming from an older sibling, and that was a trait that will truly come in handy. This whole teaching thing might actually be possible; not only that, it had a lot of benefits, like with Castiel fully trained, their garrison will undoubtedly be the strongest. Plus, it was an excuse for Uriel to have some fun and get away with an occasional bout of destruction.

Uriel grabbed Castiel and took them out of the training chamber.

"Where are we going?" Castiel asked.

"Earth. As much as I hate the mud-monkey-infestation down there, you need to be in as gritty an environment as possible." said Uriel. A glint entered his eyes. "And I know just the place for your first workout session."

* * *

_YAY! I am finally back here! And it feels good! 8D_

_Thank you so much for being patient with this story! I know waiting sucks, and really, I just devoted a whole day just to finish this. Sorry if this is a tad shorter than usual, but I'm still trying to get back into the feel of things here and, after those long-ass chapters from Gabriel's story, I (hopefully) think this is a good start :)_

_So any guesses on where these two will have their first training? Note that this story is set during the BC years, so expect some tidbits from the Bible ;D_

_I promise things will pick up in the next chapter :D Until then... OMG THE FINALE IS ALMOST HERE! THE FINALE WHICH JUST HAPPENS TO HOVER VERY CLOSELY TO THE SO-CALLED JUDGEMENT DAY! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? D8_


	14. Round 2

_So many times, it happens too fast  
You change your passion for glory  
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past  
You must fight just to keep them alive_

_._

_Eye of the Tiger ~ Survivor_

* * *

Uriel, with Castiel in tow, arrived at Earth, although instead of landing immediately they chose to glide along the sky for a moment.

"Where are we?" Castiel asked.

"Egypt." answered Uriel.

"But I thought there was an announcement that no one should go to Egypt for the time being." said Castiel.

"They just say that to keep us from having some fun and excitement." he replied.

They kept flying until the desert transformed into a city. Uriel tugged Castiel along and they began to lower themselves the moment a pyramid rose out of the cloudy horizon, soaring closer and closer to it until they were at the peak.

"This looks like the right spot." proclaimed Uriel. He got his brother and placed him on the very top block of the pyramid. He then summoned a short string of cloud overhead and used it to create a hovering circle around Castiel. "Stay there."

"What are we doing?" inquired Castiel, regarding the circle with a head-tilt.

"_You _are going to wait for my instructions. _I _will just sit here." said Uriel as he distanced himself slightly and plopped down onto a good collection of air currents.

Castiel gave him a long, observant stare before a strong wind picked up, which pushed a great deal of clouds over Egypt. Lights crackled behind the gigantic clouds and a low, continuous rumble prowled along the under-layers not soon after.

"What's going on?" Castiel asked, slowly and worriedly.

"Your first lesson." answered Uriel, leaning back and getting a more comfortable position.

Something white fell from the clouds and Uriel caught it in his hand without even looking up; he held the hailstone, about the size of a chicken's egg, up for Castiel to see.

"Punch every hailstone that falls within the circle." he said. And as if to motivate him, Uriel promptly crushed the hailstone he had in a single motion and let its bits fall to the sand far, far, below them.

"That's it?" clarified Castiel.

"As much as possible, they should break into pieces." Uriel added.

Castiel nodded fervently and proceeded to scan the skies for any approaching hailstones. A minute later, another hailstone dropped from the clouds; Castiel made a move to chase after it but the hailstone fell just outside the boundary of the circle. His balance was lost for a minute, causing him to ridiculously flail which Uriel found amusing and just had to chuckle.

Three more hailstones descended, but they were all beyond the small circle. Finally, one hailstone was on its way to plummet into the circle, and Castiel got so excited that he almost missed landing a hit on it.

"I got one!" he happily declared.

"Castiel," began Uriel.

"Yes?"

"That was a sad punch." he said.

At that, all the enthusiasm drained out of his features and even his wings sagged in disappointment. But then another hailstone came within range and Castiel bucked up and gave it a more improved punch.

"Fantastic," said Uriel. "…if you're trying to upstage a newborn kitten."

Castiel's wings ruffled at that, and it almost looked like he was offended. More hailstones were falling now and he punched as much of them that went within the circle as he could. Some punches were just as pathetic as the last, albeit eventually he was getting the hang of it. More chunks flew off and they reached more distance.

But then the real storm arrived and hail plummeted at such a dramatic rate that even angels such as Castiel had a tough time keeping track of them all. His punches became confused and uncertain; soon, he was so overwhelmed and was stumped at which direction he should pick.

"Can I stop now?" pleaded Castiel, and though he did not say it aloud, it was evident that he did not like getting pummeled by hail.

"Don't be such a fledgling, brother." scoffed Uriel.

Castiel yelped as a particularly huge chunk of hail hit him on the head. "But I _am _a fledgling." he replied.

"It's an expression!"

"But _you're_ still a fledgling too."

"Just barely." Uriel defended. He glanced and saw that Castiel was giving him one of his piercing stares again. "Shut up and keep punching." he hastily added.

His younger brother stared at the skies around them, desolation and doubt in his eyes. Then, as if triggered by something, Castiel just started wildly, almost with blind recklessness, punching at every direction. It lacked form and finesse but Uriel decided to distance himself all the same from the little whirlwind his brother had become.

Shards of hail shot out of Castiel's small field, which at first merely fell by the cloud-circle's border. Then a little further, a little straighter, then pushed with much more speed and force, coming out more numerous and sharper than before…

Uriel would never admit it to anyone, but he actually had to _seek shelter_.

Once it had gone on far enough, Uriel inched out of his makeshift cloud-shield. "Castiel, you can – "

A big hailstone hit him in the face.

"…stop now." he finished.

Castiel immediately ceased when he realized what had happened. "I apologize for that." he said sheepishly.

Uriel wiped the hailstone off his face with as much dignity as he could muster. "At least you're improving, somewhat. It's time for your second lesson." he stated.

The cloud-circle vanished as Castiel stepped out of it. "What is it?" he inquired.

Like it was on cue, a long streak of lightning zipped across the sky, followed by a loud boom of thunder that caused Castiel's wings to falter for a second.

"Catch lightning bolts." said Uriel self-righteously.

Castiel's eyes widened and his mouth went agape. He nervously looked up in time to see another batch of lightning bolts mercilessly rake the clouds, and it only took a moment to realize who was in charge of this storm.

"Those are from Raphael." he whispered timidly.

"And some are mine." said Uriel sadistically. He pointed a finger to the sky and, sure enough, a different bunch of lightning bolts darted all over, and although they were not as bright or large as Raphael's, they still appeared formidable.

If Castiel was not using his wings to fly at the moment, he would be cowering in them. "I'm scared." he admitted.

"You're always scared. That's what's holding you back from becoming a real warrior; you let..." Uriel shuddered at the next word. "…_emotions_ get in the way. It impairs your abilities." he explained.

For a while, Castiel seemed to hang onto his every word. Then he tilted his head up and the fear manifested itself again. "They're so big." he whimpered.

"You're an angel." countered Uriel. Suddenly, his Grace sensed an approaching danger. "Incoming!"

Lightning streaked down and would have hit both of them if they had not acted sooner. When the bolt vanished, Uriel looked around for his brother, actually fearing for a brief moment that he had been too clumsy to get away. However, when he caught sight of him hiding behind the pyramid peak, every bit of concern was replaced by fury.

"What are you waiting for? Catch them!" shouted Uriel as he gestured at the multitude of lightning bolts shooting across the sky. Instead of doing what he had been told, Castiel merely shrank further behind the pyramid with a shake of his head.

"Castiel, you're never gonna learn anything like this. Catch. A. Lightning. Bolt!" said Uriel pointedly. And just when he thought his brother could not be any more obstinate, Castiel seemed on the verge of crying.

If cursing was allowed, he would have done it tenfold by now. Uriel was about to fly over to Castiel and yank him out by the wings when a distant yet shrill sound reached them.

"What's that?" Castiel asked, his inquisitiveness overcoming his trepidation.

Tracing the origin of the noise, both of them looked down and discovered that it had come from the Egyptian village burning below.

"Humans." sneered Uriel. "Screaming and running around for their puny lives."

That managed to get Castiel out of his hiding spot. "Why?" he asked.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fire from the sky," Uriel answered with a trace of sarcasm.

Castiel fluttered closer to Uriel to get a better view of what was going on below them. "They're getting hurt." he muttered apprehensively. "Even the humans' fledglings are with them." he added, more worried than ever.

"They're called children." corrected Uriel. He scanned the rest of the terrain and pinpointed an interesting sight. "Oh, look at that. One of them is stuck under a fallen tree."

His younger brother quickly whipped his head around to where Uriel was looking. "Her family's rescuing her." he observed, edged with relief.

"Not for long." chuckled Uriel. He pointed a finger to the clouds and a lightning bolt came down and hit the tree, causing it to catch fire. The humans screamed louder and more frantically.

"Brother, stop! They could die!" Castiel screamed.

"Well, let's make it quick then." said Uriel. With that, he pointed to the sky and two more lightning bolts descended, this time aimed for the humans.

In less than a second, there would be five more adding to Egypt's death toll… if only Castiel had not dived in, caught the bolts and hurled them back to the sky where they would do no harm.

Uriel regarded him with disdain. "You'd rather catch lightning bolts for the sake of saving a handful of chimps than to be a better soldier?" he yelled, mostly because he was furious rather than to compensate for the distance Castiel had placed in between them.

"It's not like that." said Castiel.

"Really?"

Uriel directed another lightning bolt toward the humans and Castiel swooped in to catch it and throw it to the clouds.

"Stop it, please!" Castiel begged.

"Make me." snapped Uriel.

He sent down five lightning bolts, all toward various directions, and an extremely panicked look entered Castiel's face before he zoomed off. Every bolt he caught and hurled, Uriel made two more in their place, and soon his younger brother was whizzing all across the skies. At some point, Castiel was either going too fast or too focused on his next catch to regard his safety and the other lightning bolts were able to brush against his wings and form which, even for full-grown angels, hurt.

Overtime, Uriel started to feel sorry for him and stopped making lightning. Afterward, he approached Castiel, who was leaning against a cloud for support as the fatigue wore down on him.

"Aside from getting a bit less humans on the planet, you did a good job." said Uriel, unconsciously using his wing to shield his younger brother from any more harms.

Castiel was trembling, and he did not look like he could stay airborne much longer. "It hurts." he murmured, showing Uriel his burnt hands.

"Come, let's land for a while. And so long as you don't start sobbing on me, I'll help you heal." said Uriel. And although he refused to admit that he had what had been dubbed as a 'soft side,' he will admit that, at the moment, he did not want to lose a now promising member of his garrison.

O_x

"…and so Nemamiah says, 'That's not an acacia tree, that's a broccoli!'" Uriel concluded, letting out a boisterous guffaw. As they were healing Castiel, he had decided that passing the time with some jokes ought to be worthwhile.

Castiel glanced up from his hands and tilted his head at Uriel. "I don't get it." he said impassively.

"It's a funny joke." said Uriel. When Castiel's confused expression only deepened, he darkly added, "Laugh or I'll smite you."

Castiel made a nervous, lighthearted chuckle before his gaze suddenly locked on something very interesting in front.

"What?" Uriel asked sharply.

"There's a grasshopper on your head." said Castiel innocently.

Uriel instantly let go off Castiel's hands to swipe at his head, and a second later, a grasshopper came bouncing down to the sand. "Stupid grasshopper." Uriel muttered.

As the creature started bouncing away, Castiel nimbly caught it in his newly-healed hands and observed it in its cupped prison. Uriel '_hmmph'_ed in abhorrence and turned his head away when the grasshopper attained a bright giggle out of his brother.

Upon letting his grasshopper go its way, Castiel perked up again. "There's two more on your left wing." he said.

That got Uriel to stand up to shake them off him. "I am a second away from smiting these creatures." he growled.

Castiel also got up to let the other two grasshoppers pass, only to have his eyes widen once he was at his full height.

"I think we should leave Egypt now." he said uneasily.

A huff of indignation was about to be sounded off when Uriel turned to where Castiel seemed to be staring and he found himself doing likewise.

A gigantic swarm of locusts was on its way toward them, quick and hungry. For once, Uriel followed an order coming from a younger sibling and they took off. Unfortunately, Castiel apparently still seemed to be tired from his earlier flight and did not get high enough to escape the swarm. The last thing Uriel heard was his brother squealing for help and when he faced the swarm, Castiel was nowhere in sight.

"Castiel!" Uriel shouted. When a reply failed to be heard or sensed, he threw his pride away and waded into the mass of grasshoppers.

At first, he was just whacking away at one grasshopper pile to another, then for some reason he reduced himself to carefully sifting through the creatures like they were grains of sand.

"Castiel, where are you? Castiel!" screamed Uriel. He could not believe this, there was no way this could –

"Uriel?"

Uriel instantly snapped up to trace where his brother's voice was coming from… which was a few meters away from him and well out of reach of the swarm.

There was the head-tilt again. "Why are you holding a tumbleweed in the middle of a locust swarm?" Castiel innocently asked.

Switching his gaze to his hands, Uriel learned that he was indeed holding a tumbleweed, something he thought was the edge of Castiel's wings but clearly was not. Now, he realized he looked like a total idiot kneeling amidst the swarm as grasshoppers climbed and jumped over him.

With a flap of his wings, Uriel was next to his brother, whom he grabbed a little too tightly.

"Let's just go." he muttered.

O_x

They landed somewhere cold, dark and, most importantly, devoid of life.

"Where are we now?" Castiel diffidently asked. As if the tremble in his voice was not enough, he was gradually moving closer and closer to Uriel.

"Let's just say it's somewhere deep underground." said Uriel as he pushed his brother away.

It was not long before Castiel began clinging to his wings once more. "I don't like it here." he whispered.

"Life isn't all rainbows and sunshine, brother; get used to it." Uriel replied as they continued to venture deeper.

Their journey went on undisturbed for quite some time, and although the darkness did not impair their vision, there always lingered that sense of unease at what could possibly jump out at the next boulder or stalactite.

Then an earth-shattering roar filled the chamber they were presently in.

"That sounded like a monster." said Castiel quietly.

"That's actually your next lesson." snickered Uriel.

The whole chamber rumbled, as if caught in an earthquake, but as it progressed, a sort of rhythmic pattern could be detected, like in the manner of footsteps.

And that was when a huge creature burst out of the wall, snarling and howling so loud that stalactites fell off the ceiling. Castiel and Uriel took cover at the nick of time, and as the dust settled, the creature responsible was finally revealed.

With its claws marring the granite walls, its body blocking the entire passage and its six eyes glaring with predatory instinct, Cerberus stood over them in all its menacing form.

Uriel snuck a glance at his brother and saw that he was frozen stiff in terror. He chose that opportunity to shove Castiel into Cerberus' full view, much to his sheer dismay.

"Last seven hours with him... them." said Uriel, gesturing at the beast.

Cerberus barked and Castiel tried scrambling his way back to Uriel. However, Uriel flew out of his reach and landed at the threshold that led to the only exit. He banged against the wall several times until the passage was obstructed by rocks, effectively trapping Castiel in with Cerberus.

"And before you get any smart ideas," Uriel waved and let a bit of his Grace pulse through to etch symbols onto the boulders. "I've warded the walls so the rocks can only be moved from the outside." shouted Uriel.

Castiel's tiny form thumping against the boulders could be faintly heard on the other side, and his desperate pleas for freedom followed soon after. Uriel merely chuckled to himself as he went around finding a good spot to meditate.

Once the seven-hour-span was over, Uriel came back to the wall-block and removed a single stone from the pile. That caused a chain-reaction and the majority of the boulders came toppling down.

"Castiel?"

He was greeted by a calm, empty sight that lacked any angels or guard dogs of the Underworld, and that got him worried. Cautiously, he went into the cavern to search for his brother, because if Castiel got eaten on his watch, there was no way he could ever hold a real weapon of Heaven.

"Castiel?"

As his search continued to be fruitless, worry was beginning to creep over him. All of a sudden, the ground shook and Cerberus came running through from the very edge of the cavern. Uriel dove out of its path in time, albeit he soon he realized that the monster was chasing him.

Uriel flew for the life of him, but Cerberus always came in too close so he could not really get away that much. Then he remembered that he was an angel, an angel who was perfectly capable of smiting lowlife mongrels such as this. He was about to strike when a very big paw pinned him to a corner and refused to release him.

Cerberus leaned in close to Uriel… and licked him with all its three tongues. As if he could not be more humiliated, a little head popped out from behind Cerberus' heads.

"Hello, Uriel. Has it been seven hours already?" said Castiel brightly.

Unbelievable.

Castiel giggled and patted each head. "You can put me down now, Cerberus." he said, and just like that, Cerberus lowered its heads and allowed Castiel to slide off easily. Once he was settled, Cerberus turned all three heads toward Castiel and started licking at him.

"I think they like me." laughed Castiel, squirming around.

Uriel could not help but stare incredulously at his brother. Cerberus – one of the most terrible beasts in all of creation – was basically a playful puppy having fun with a fledgling. He had seen a lot of weird things in his existence… but this had to be the prime of them all.

The minute Cerberus' paw slackened off him, Uriel shoved it aside, marched toward his slobber-covered brother and made his way to the exit.

"Let's go." he grumbled.

Castiel stumbled along but did not resist his pull. "Goodbye, Cerberus. I'll come visit you when I'm not training." he called out.

Cerberus barked in acknowledgement and wagged its enormous tail around.

Purely unbelievable.

* * *

_This was written in a hurry (sorry ^^;) but I'm trying to make up for the major procrastination faze I went through. This should've been posted sooner X_X_

_Oh yeah, hopefully this would sorta satisfy the 'Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison' shtick XD_

_References are the biblical ten plagues and Greek mythology :D_


	15. Round 3

Hello! FINALLY I'm back! I'm so extremely sorry this took a while! With school keeping me busy, it's getting harder to find free time these days. I wanted to get this done sooner but things just kept on eating my time and causing writer's block.

Anyway, I hope I didn't make you guys wait too long. Although in the coming days, my posting schedule could become more and more disrupted, so please just bear with me here ^^

* * *

_We've got to hold on ready or not _

_You live for the fight when it's all that you've got _

_._

_Livin' on a Prayer – Bon Jovi_

* * *

"Castiel."

No response.

"Castiel."

Still nothing.

"_Castiel!_"

Castiel perked up and finally tore his gaze away from the caterpillar that had been munching on a leaf for over an hour. "Hm?"

"Are you finished yet?" Uriel asked irately.

His younger brother stared at him considerably for a moment before giving the caterpillar a final glance. He then fluttered over to Uriel's side and they began moving again.

"I swear I wonder how Father even created you," grumbled Uriel. They flew for a while until a vast, rocky valley appeared below them and Uriel gestured for a landing.

"Do you know what we're going to do?" he asked.

Castiel looked around their surroundings for a minute and he answered with a headshake.

"Good. And don't do that with your head; it's a human gesture." said Uriel with a hint of a sneer.

Castiel tilted his head at him. "Is that bad?" he inquired.

Uriel grimaced slightly. "You've been spending too much time with Annael." he murmured. With a wordless command from his Grace, he ordered Castiel to stay put as he wandered around and surveyed the land for a bit.

There was no greenery here, just the endless gray of cliff-faces and sharp, protruding edges from the boulders that littered the whole terrain. It was a place devoid of life and was promising for some heavy-duty damage.

Without warning, Uriel grabbed a nearby boulder and threw it to Castiel. Castiel, meanwhile, gasped before hastily flying off to a safe spot. However, Uriel was one step ahead of him and hurled another boulder at him less than a nanosecond later, which Castiel avoided nonetheless.

"What are you doing?" yelled Castiel.

"Trying to hit you." answered Uriel. To prove his point, another boulder was launched and Castiel barely managed to evade it.

"_Why_?" he shouted, frightened.

"To teach you that we are above pain! I want you to stand still and let yourself get hit with a boulder!" replied Uriel.

Castiel ducked and flew away from three more boulders. "Is this truly necessary?" he asked worriedly.

"If you want to be a genuine part of Heaven, yes." said Uriel. His boulder-throwing went on for quite some time, albeit he had yet to smash his extremely evasive brother at least once. "For the love of – ! _Stop_ _moving_!" he yelled.

Whether Castiel failed to hear his words over the booms of large rocks shattering the earth or he simply chose to ignore him, he still went on avoiding the falling boulders. Getting fed up with him, Uriel stretched his hand and immobilized Castiel in his place. His brother struggled to free himself, but he was still so young that he had not learned telekinesis yet, much less how to counter it.

Satisfied, Uriel got a boulder and gradually made his way to his frantic sibling. He made certain that his approach was as daunting and agonizingly slow as possible simply to make Castiel panic more. He was frozen in mid-takeoff and Uriel found that all the more amusing.

As he was about to drop the boulder, and with the dread in Castiel's eyes shining brighter than ever, all of a sudden, Uriel felt a strong force grip him by the Grace and fling him, plus the boulder he was holding, to the other side of the valley. Seconds later, the mysterious force disappeared and Uriel unceremoniously slumped to the ground.

He sat there trying to take into account of what just happened. That was an angel's energy that had tossed him here, it was unmistakable. Was another angel around then? The moment the dust cleared, Uriel saw, to his shock, that Castiel was free from his psychic hold, moving about and had a surprised expression as well.

And that was when it dawned on Uriel:

"Did you just catapult me into a wall?" he asked outrageously. His brother had somehow spontaneously learned a countermove to telekinesis, which was unheard of in extremely young fledglings such as Castiel.

A minute passed and Castiel finally picked up on that fact. He shook himself out of his alarm and sped over to Uriel. "I didn't mean to!" he cried out innocently.

He was so focused on getting to Uriel that Castiel failed to take in account the various boulders that still populated the area. He bumped into one, which in turn knocked him over to another boulder; that caused the second boulder's balance to be upset and before either angel could register the effects of gravity, the boulder fell on top of Castiel.

Uriel merely sat there dumbstruck for a moment.

"Castiel!" he later exclaimed once everything fell into place.

He rushed to where his brother was being squashed and flipped over the large rock with urgency. Luckily, without vessels, they did not have much of a physical form so the damage was less substantial. But to be at risk of being harmed was always a huge possibility.

Uriel carefully peered down the little crater his brother had made. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Castiel stared at him with a dazed expression for a long time before he struggled to get up. "I think so." he replied faintly.

Realizing that he was bordering on compassion, Uriel straightened up and sneered at him. "You should be. That was the smallest boulder here." he laughed.

Regardless, they were basically done here. They still had much to do and they could not afford to waste any time. Uriel gestured for them to leave; a couple of seconds later, when he noticed the lack of a younger sibling following him, he turned around and saw that Castiel was stumbling off to a different direction, apparently in a kind of stupor. He had seen that stunned look in some humans before, when they were so beaten up that logic escaped them, their sight would become faulty and they would be too confused to distinguish left from right.

Uriel sighed and got Castiel. "_This_ way, brother." he said, guiding him to the correct way.

O_x

They moved further inland and arrived in a wooded mountain area. Bamboo shoots sprouted in every nook and cranny and a thin layer of mist blanketed the whole landscape. A large waterfall gushed on in the distance that sounded as if the land was snoring.

"Uriel?" Castiel piped up as they were walking.

"What?" tartly replied Uriel.

"I am getting tired." he said.

Uriel let out an aggravated grunt. "Only mortals get tired. They're the weaklings of creation. Do you want to be a weakling?" he asked harshly.

"No," muttered Castiel.

"Then pick up the pace. Training isn't over yet." snapped Uriel.

Castiel timidly bowed his head and said no more. They navigated their way through the bamboo and flowers with ease, and all the while, the mist got thicker the further they progressed. However, it did not take long for the serene environment to transform into something grisly; after pushing through a thick collection of bamboo, they came to a clearing where a great stretch of bamboo had been severely scorched, leaving a gaping black circle in the forest.

Uriel quickly realized what they had stumbled into. Unfortunately, Castiel did not and his curiosity led him to tread onto the burnt earth.

And like an alarm had been triggered, a huge shadow moved behind the mist and Castiel immediately leapt back to Uriel. The same shadow flitted past, closer this time and accompanied by the stench of brimstone and ashes.

Without warning, a jet of fire shot out from the sky and the two angels barely had enough time to take cover. As the smoke dissipated, a gigantic red dragon appeared, snarling and watching them with a deeply penetrating gaze.

"Brother," Castiel whispered fearfully.

"Be still." said Uriel, not leaving eye-contact with the dragon. "And no matter what, _do not _flee." he added.

The dragon continued to stare at them a moment longer. It locked eyes with Castiel, and after it found out that it had been him who stepped onto its territory, the dragon released a ground-shattering roar before grabbing the young fledgling.

"Uriel!" Castiel screamed in terror.

"Stop whining! Get out of there on your own!" said Uriel.

The dragon began shaking him about as it slowly took to the skies. "Help!" cried out Castiel.

"It's challenging you! You have to accept it!" yelled Uriel.

Castiel managed to squirm his way out of the dragon's claws. However, the dragon prevented him from flying away by spraying a deluge of fire around him.

"I don't want to!" exclaimed Castiel.

"Do it, Castiel!" ordered Uriel.

The dragon roared once more, as if it was getting impatient.

"I'm scared!" said Castiel, on the verge of crying. Frankly, Uriel could not blame him; unlike Cerberus, dragons were actually more likely to consume living beings, fledglings included.

"Then you don't deserve to be a soldier." responded Uriel.

At that, what little courage Castiel had to begin with since his entire creation bubbled up to the surface and, gradually, made him face the dragon. Consequentially, the dragon poured a dense puff of smoke onto Castiel before it started circling him.

"What does it want me to do?" Castiel asked timidly.

"A race, and a fight." answered Uriel. "At the same time."

Not a moment after he said that, the dragon zoomed up to the sky, knocking Castiel to the ground with its sheer turbulence. Castiel had to shake the shock out of his system before he recalled what he had to do and took off. When it was sure that there was enough distance, Uriel flew after them, although choosing to go at a lower altitude.

It was not until a minute later that Uriel located his brother and the dragon streaking through the clouds. Also, he could not help but notice that Castiel was lagging a good twenty feet away on purpose.

"Keep going! Show that lizard how powerful angels can be!" ordered Uriel.

Castiel spared him a nervous glance before tentatively accelerating. The dragon sensed his approach and let a fiery flood gush out at him, which Castiel nearly failed to evade. Another stream of flames came rushing at him, and this time he was caught unaware and got hit, resulting to his descent.

Luckily, Uriel got hold of him in time and hurled a still-too-stunned Castiel back into the race. After a few seconds of jerky, clumsy flying, Castiel was soon in his right state of mind and managed to avoid another jet of fire, though it was obvious that he was not going at his full speed, much to Uriel's annoyance.

The clouds eventually started to cut away when a seemingly endless stretch of mountain ranges and rock spires materialized ahead of them. Castiel and the dragon now had to be more wary of their flight lest they wanted to collide into something. Both of them were aware of the dangers, except that only the dragon managed to think that that could be used to the advantage.

Fire rained down on Castiel more frequently than ever, and Castiel had to frantically circumvent that and the land masses coming up to meet him. On one occasion, he even miscalculated his flying and crashed into a rock spire after the dragon feigned another blast. As Castiel recovered, the dragon brought forth a real burst of flames and Uriel thought for certain that his brother would not stand a chance.

Then Castiel deflected the fire and sent it straight back to the dragon.

Uriel was actually impressed, considering that his younger brother's abilities were not yet that developed. Although, if anyone asked, he would call it a lucky shot, not that he was jealous or anything.

The dragon fired at him again, which Castiel once more deflected. Riled, the dragon produced more jets of fire and even clawed at some of the cliff faces so that a landslide would come meet Castiel. However, he just dodged and deflected all of them, and as he continued to emerge unscathed, his confidence seemed to grow as Uriel noted him gaining on the dragon.

Sensing Castiel's rapid approach, the dragon snatched him in his claws and appeared to have the intention of dragging him across the mountain ranges. Castiel struggled, the dragon roared so loudly that boulders fell from the nearby mountains, clouds thickened, several blasts of fire were made which were followed by rebounding shots, Castiel and the dragon began to go down, a ghastly bellow and a child-like scream sounded off at once...

Uriel lost sight of them before a rupturing crash thundered across the land.

"Castiel!" he exclaimed. When a reply failed to reach him, Uriel swooped down as fast as he could.

It did not take long for him to find the crash site since it was practically one deep, enormous crater filled with boulders and a couple of large trees. He shoved aside some rocks before he came face to face with the dragon, making Uriel leap back a considerable feet away. Once the shock subsided, he realized that the dragon was unconscious and was very much pinned down by the boulders. Also, judging by the pool of blood slowly seeping out of the mound of rocks, it appeared as though the dragon was heavily wounded.

Uriel nonchalantly looked away and searched for his brother. Thankfully, it was a lot easier than with the dragon since Castiel was placed a good distance from the crater, totally uninjured. Because the dragon was not likely to be getting up any time soon (or at all), Uriel grinned at his brother's official victory. He would have thought Castiel would be thrilled, even on the verge of hugging him at the news, but instead he was curled up into the tightest ball he could muster, eyes staring straight ahead at the motionless dragon and bright with tears.

"Brother?" Uriel ventured when Castiel did not acknowledge his presence.

"I did that." whispered Castiel, so quietly that even Uriel had a hard time hearing. "I killed it. It was only protecting its territory... and I killed it."

Technically, the dragon was not dead _yet_, but if unable to remove itself from the rubble within an hour and it would very well be. Anyway, it was only a dragon; what good did it ever do the world anyway besides scorching a few villages? Then Uriel saw that his brother was really crying now and had to bury himself within his wings. Normally, he would pull him up so they could move on to their next task, except that he was fully aware that Castiel's mind was easily manipulated by emotions, and a chaotic mind would only lead to disastrous results; if he was going to calm him down, he had to take drastic measures:

Uriel walked toward the dragon, pushed over some of the heavier stones and healed its injuries. While he was doing so, he watched as Castiel slowly lift his head up and the tears vanish from his eyes at the gesture. The second the dragon was fully healed, Uriel carried Castiel and flew off.

O_x

To get away from it all, Uriel took them to the bottom of the Earth, where snow prevailed and life was scarce. They landed on a spot that was vastly populated by soft mounds of snow and penguins. The birds scattered away at their arrival but did not seem all that bothered.

Uriel looked down and saw Castiel moping, almost sinking into the pile of snow and curling his wings around himself to make a miserable, tiny ball.

"Quit sulking. I have something to show you." said Uriel, dragging him to the only nearby rocky surface.

Castiel slowly stared at him with the most dejected expression ever. "What are we going to do?" he asked glumly.

"Recuperation. But _only _for a few minutes." said Uriel. Once they were both settled on the rock, they sat in arctic darkness for a long time; it was a shame the sun did not shine here often.

"You feel so much. Why is that?" asked Uriel, breaking the silence.

By now, Castiel's wings had started to conceal him from the world again. "I don't know." he quietly replied.

Uriel pulled a face but did not say anything. "Well, once you're done training, emotions will no longer influence you on your duties." he said.

A particularly harsh wind blew by and the penguins cried out in unison and clumsily huddled together. Uriel and Castiel went on totally unfazed by the elements.

"I'm holding our garrison back, aren't I?" said Castiel after a while.

Uriel had the urge to tell him a lot of things, none of which were very encouraging. "You're still a fledgling." he said instead. When he noticed his brother's wide-eyed gaze on him, Uriel added, "A much, much younger fledgling. You just need to… catch up. A long, long, long, incredibly long way."

The remarkable gust of wind ultimately died down, and soon the crowd of penguins broke apart and continued doing their previous tasks. A baby penguin waddled out of its parents' hold and made its way to the rock where the two angels were sitting. It tripped on a bit of snow and began chirping for help as it was too pudgy to get up on its own.

It came as no surprise to Uriel that Castiel picked the downy puffball up and proceeded to pet and snuggle it. Uriel wondered if his younger brother was even aware of his actions or if he was doing it absentmindedly – automatically and instinctively. He distanced himself a few inches from the cuddle-fest beside him nonetheless.

"Have you ever held a real weapon before?" Castiel suddenly asked.

Uriel was somewhat taken aback by such an unexpected question, but at least he found it relevant enough. "I've had. Then I lost it." he admitted.

That halted Castiel from nuzzling the chick into his wings. "What happened?" he asked.

"I got into a fight with the Kraken." said Uriel, not bothering to hide it. "I won, obviously, but at the cost of my blade." he said. He tore a small chunk of the rock they were sitting on and made it skip a mile out across the ocean. "And it's not even an official blade bestowed upon by our superiors; I forged it myself and put a bit of my own Grace in it." he added wistfully.

Castiel held the chick closer to him, albeit his eyes remained on Uriel. "You can do that?"

That got a smirk out of Uriel. "We're angels. We can achieve whatever we want if we don't hold ourselves back." he said proudly.

The look he received from his brother was that of admiration, like Castiel was watching from the audience as Uriel came back home to Heaven after a grueling yet successful mission. Castiel appeared to be on the verge of saying something when a bright light shone from the horizon.

He and Uriel turned their attention to the ocean and saw the land's first ever sunrise in several months. For a moment, peace and wonder dominated over the Antarctic as golden radiance gently caressed every patch of snow and every ruffled feather. Even the penguins stopped squabbling amongst themselves and gazed at the rare sight.

"Alright, recuperation has gone on long enough. Get up, Castiel, you're going to go through an obstacle course this time." said Uriel once the sun had fully risen.

With a wave of his hand, a long obstacle course was established, much to the penguins' utter dismay: loops and tunnels of icebergs formed on the sea, creating an eccentric path complete with falling ice shards, collapsing walls and sharks jumping out at random points. And as an added bonus, Uriel made certain segments rise and fall into the freezing waters every three seconds, which would pull any angel down with then whether they want to or not.

A smug, malicious grin on his face, Uriel turned to Castiel… only to find out that his brother was gone and had left him alone with the penguin chick blinking inquisitively at him.

"Castiel?" Uriel called out angrily, his voice echoing for miles. "_Castiel_!" he shouted, louder and more livid.

Yet there was still no sight of his brother anywhere.

"You are such a _coward_! Get back here now!" Uriel screamed, practically to the entire continent.

He waited for some time, actually hoping that Castiel was not the coward he thought himself to be. But then the sun set and he still did not show up. Furious, and a little disappointed, Uriel flew back to Heaven.

O_x

He occupied himself with pummeling the artificial life out of a multitude of demon-dummies, not caring in the slightest if he had to replace every last one of them. He was so furious that the only thing that refrained him from laying waste to the entire Host were the archangels lurking around here and there.

Then, Uriel heard his squeaky little voice.

"Uriel, I found you!"

Turning around wrathfully, Uriel put his worst glare forward and marched over to Castiel.

"Where have you been?" demanded Uriel.

Castiel shrank into himself and his feathers ruffled in defense. "I was – " he started nervously.

"Did I _say _training was over?" Uriel shouted.

"I wasn't – " said Castiel feebly.

"Did I _tell _you could leave?" Uriel went on, louder this time.

"Uriel, please – " Castiel whimpered.

"You left me at the bottom of the planet with a bunch of mangy birds!" screamed Uriel, pointing down to where Earth was.

"I'm sorry but – "

"I thought you were serious with becoming a real soldier!"

"I am – !"

"Yet you abandoned me without a word and flitted off into hiding to Father knows where!"

"That's not – "

"How am I ever – ?"

"_Uriel_!" Castiel shouted desperately, his wings flaring out uncontrollably.

Uriel stared at his brother with stunned disbelief for a moment. However, it seemed that that was enough time for Castiel to reach for something behind him and present the object to him: it was an authentic blade, glowing with pure, unused power and so sharp that it was almost cutting the blue-red light surrounding it. But there was something familiar about the blade…

"Is this mine?" Uriel asked incredulously.

"Yes, and I fixed it up too." said Castiel, offering a shy smile.

That explained why the auburn light the blade usually emitted was now tinted with blue. Nevertheless, the important thing was that, instead of cowering in a niche like Uriel had previously suspected, Castiel had in fact retrieved and mended the blade he lost such a long time ago. It was phenomenal!

Gingerly, Uriel took the blade and closely examined it. The dents and scratches from his rigorous trainings centuries ago were gone, and if it were possible, the edges were even straighter this time. It felt incredibly good to hold it again, even though the essence was not solely his anymore.

"Not bad." Uriel commented, with just a smidgeon of awe seeping out.

"Thank you." said Castiel.

Uriel considered his younger brother and sensed his wings softening for the first time in his existence. "No. Thank you." he said quietly, which was as close to being gentle as he could ever attain.

Castiel looked up at him in wide-eyed curiosity, as if he had never heard those two words being addressed to him instead. As they fleetingly locked gazes, Uriel soon noticed how disheveled his brother looked; his downy wings were frayed, his light was flickering at the edges and his Grace seemed to struggle in providing more energy.

That was when Uriel remembered one very important factor: "How did you get this from the Kraken?" he asked wildly.

Castiel's stare went on a little longer before a smile appeared. "I _am_ an angel." he proclaimed. His gaze went down as he muttered, "And Cerberus helped."

Whatever 'help' that mutt gave, it was obvious that Castiel had still taken most of the hits from the Kraken with how ready to fall apart he was. That meant he basically had to take on the Kraken on his own, and for what, a single blade that was not even his?

"Why did you do it?" asked Uriel.

"Because someone once told me that angels can achieve whatever they want if they don't hold themselves back." said Castiel. "And you're my brother; I don't want to see my family sad."

Those words struck something in Uriel and he could not decide whether to smack him or… do something affectionate. After all the things he pushed him through, Castiel's spirit remained pure and he was simply overwhelmed by it. Maybe there truly was more to his brother than what the eye could perceive. Maybe he deserved to be in this garrison after all.

Uriel snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Castiel was so tired that he had to lean onto one of the columns. "We should get you to the Infirmary to replenish your Grace." he said, tucking his blade away and taking hold of his brother.

"And then can we spar after?" Castiel asked after a while.

All Uriel could do was stare at him in shock before he broke out laughing. "Now _that's _a brother I can relate to!" he exclaimed.

O_x

"_Now, please, brother, don't fight me. Help me. Help me spread the word. Help me bring on the Apocalypse. All you have to do is be unafraid."_

"_For the first time in a long time, I am."_

Fin (for this mini-story)_  
_

* * *

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed, put this on alerts, faved and just plain read the story this far! Thank you! 8D_

_Also, as you may have noticed, I put in a real, scaly, reptilian dragon in here (and not like the human-ish ones from the show -_-)  
_

_And I haven't forgotten about the hint for the next angel either! __Hint: this angel got to wear two vessels in the show._

_Bonus hint: he killed Cas._

_School's already ongoing where I am so please just bear with me with the pace of updates ^^;_


	16. Understanding Pain with Raphael

Confetti! It's a parade! In honor of Misha's birthday, I present to you an update! YAY! 8D

* * *

_Every time I feel the sunshine  
I thank the Lord up above,  
for seeing something I  
couldn't see at all.  
Coming down hard,  
the feeling's all gone.  
Where are we gonna hide?  
My wings are feeling clipped now,  
and all I wanna do is fly._

_._

_Grace – Ed Kowalczyk_

* * *

Atop the highest tower of Heaven's Infirmary, where moonbeams and drops of sunlight merge together and the air hummed with the chorus of electricity rather than songs that praised the Father, Raphael observed the great expanse of his home with a rare feeling of peace.

It had been too long since he last experienced such a thing; usually, Father would hold a meeting with the archangels and they would discuss 'The Things That Passed' and 'The Things That Have Yet To Come.' Oftentimes, they were given specific, monumental tasks to be carried out straight away, although the work put into them could last centuries. And if Father was being silent and aloof, there were almost always wounded soldiers in desperate need of treatment.

Not today though. Today, all was well in Heaven. He closed his eyes and basked in his solitude…

Then a scream shook the entire tower.

"Hold him down! Hold him down!" a voice echoed a few levels below.

"Steady… Careful, his wings could jut out at any moment." frantically joined another.

"Oh Father, please help this poor creature." wailed a third.

For a moment, surges of lightning crackled across Raphael's wings in frustration, but he forced himself to calm down and his wings returned to their standard hue of heavy clouds. There were rules inside the Infirmary, and the most important one was that the more injured an angel was, the higher the level they had to go to be treated. Since Raphael resided over the very peak of the Infirmary, only the most severe casualties were to be sent to him. From the sound of the scream, the wounded angel was probably just three or four levels beneath him.

Realizing that peace had escaped him yet again, Raphael unwillingly abandoned his spot and went down to investigate. Apparently, the Healers had moved their patient up a couple of more levels; to be more specific, they relocated to the level just underneath Raphael's. Aside from that, the incessant screams and waves of pain and distress emanating from the injured angel's Grace indicated that the situation was dramatically worsening.

The moment Raphael walked into the room, he was met with the sight of three Healers desperately trying to pin down a struggling fledgling. That was the first thing that struck him as odd; how can a mere fledgling fight against the strength of three full-grown angels? And the second thing he pondered on was what damage or ailment could this fledgling be possibly suffering from to get him all the way up here?

"What's going on?" Raphael thundered.

Startled, the three Healers glanced up and allowed enough space for him to get a decent look of the fledgling they were restraining: his eyes were tightly closed, his form was writhing in agony and the light of his Grace was flickering so much that it threatened to extinguish itself. The chamber was filled with his aggrieved moans and whimpers as he strived to endure whatever was hurting him, and when the pain got too much for him, a scream burst forth.

One of the Healers finally recovered from taking in Raphael's presence. "There was a training session with a group of fledglings. I believe the exercise was to confront a full-grown basilisk – " he began.

"A basilisk?" interrupted Raphael. "That's the equivalent of sending newborn lambs to a lion. No fledgling would stand a chance." he stated, although his tone lacked any trace of concern.

The fledgling – Castiel – let out another scream and attempted to break free again, but the Healers were quick to hold him down. They turned him to a different angle for a better grip and Raphael saw that his wings were nearly severed from him, just hanging onto a thin line of Grace and a flimsy cluster of feathers. That had to be the cause for all the screaming, and despite the composed façade Raphael had to maintain, a bit of his own Grace twitched in sympathy.

Then, for a millisecond, he noticed a dark ooze trickling out of Castiel's gaping wound.

"Thank the Father that they all survived then. Especially this one." said one of the Healers, turning the fledgling over again.

"Yes, he is fortunate." muttered Raphael.

Just then, Castiel started thrashing about as a trembling cry forced its way out of him. Raphael decided it was time for him to step in.

"Be still, brother. I am here to help you." he whispered.

He was about to let the healing power of his Grace pour into him when, all of a sudden, Castiel wrenched his eyes open. Raphael had not spent time with all of his siblings, but he had at least seen every one of them – every feature, every bit of Grace, every color and intensity their light projected. He knew that Castiel's eyes were a tranquil yet penetrating shade of blue.

What he was staring into were two voids of hellish red.

Castiel released the most piercing scream Raphael had ever heard in his existence, a scream not out of pain, but of horror. He momentarily arched off the surface he was lying on before recklessly doing everything he can to liberate himself. Castiel began rambling frightened gibberish, much like an extremely distraught human child.

"What is happening to him?" one of the Healers asked.

"Restrain him; I can't have his wings snapping right off." Raphael ordered.

They obeyed, and after some time, the red in Castiel's eyes mellowed to a deep purple, which later faded into his normal blue color. At that transition, Castiel collapsed into a limp, tired heap.

"It hurts… It hurts so much…" he murmured shakily. An assault of pain from his wings came over him, and all Castiel could do was whimper miserably and curl into a tiny ball. His entire form was shaking from fatigue and agony and the light of his Grace was flickering dangerously again.

Taking pity on him, Raphael slowly approached his brother. Since Castiel showed no signs of going into a fit any time soon, the three other angels backed away from the archangel.

"Hush, Castiel." said Raphael. He gave him a gentle touch and made him lose consciousness; Castiel's form became lax and his flickering Grace steadied to a dull glow. He then scooped him up and proceeded to the topmost level.

"Sir?" a Healer ventured.

"Leave now. Your services are not required at the moment." said Raphael coolly.

"Yes, sir." they replied in unison.

Raphael had not gone far when a thought entered his mind. "One more thing: you don't happen to know the one responsible for sending these fledglings to the basilisk, do you?" he inquired.

"I believe Zachariah is in charge of them today." one of the Healers answered.

"I see. That will be all."

O_x

It had been some time since Raphael brought Castiel to the top level to rest. He had settled him on a bed of springtime clouds with a warm blanket of afternoon sunshine over him. He had given his brother a tiny fraction of his Grace to help him heal, and because an archangel's Grace was so much more powerful than a typical angel's, it would take a long while before Castiel's Grace could absorb a piece from Raphael. During that time, Raphael visited Castiel's garrison to check if anyone else was harboring any similar ailments, as well as to give Zachariah a stern lecture.

When he returned to the Infirmary, he caught Castiel trying to escape the tower. "What are you doing out of bed?" demanded Raphael.

Castiel froze and shrank into himself at the boom of his voice. Raphael advanced on him and Castiel actually fell backward when he realized he could not hide into himself any further.

"Well?" Raphael pressed on.

"My garrison might require me," mumbled Castiel after flinching from a pang from his injury.

Raphael gave him a condescending glare. "No, you just want to be in the comfort of your own brood. You're not going anywhere until your wings are completely healed." he stated.

It seemed like Castiel was about to say something when he experienced another fit of pain and was reduced to writhing and moaning on the floor again. Irked, Raphael snatched him up and made to bring him back to his bed.

When Castiel's squirming stopped, he opened his eyes to reveal that they were blazed in red once more. "Don't kill me! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! _No_!" he cried out, pushing as hard as he can against Raphael.

"I'm not doing you any harm. Stop talking such nonsense." said Raphael.

"Please don't explode me… please." he sniveled. His Grace was now sending out waves of utter fear instead of the waves of torment radiating off him only a short moment ago.

"What are you talking about? I'm here to heal you, not smite you!" said Raphael, albeit he was beginning to think that there was something much more to his injury.

Eventually, Castiel calmed down and his eyes went from red to purple to blue. Raphael placed him on his bed the second he was certain he would not be having another episode like that in the immediate future.

"It hurts… I don't want it to hurt… Please make it stop." sobbed Castiel, trying to curl into a ball again. From that angle, Raphael discovered that a thick black liquid was dribbling out of Castiel's wound for a second time.

"What happened on Earth anyway, between you and the basilisk?" he asked.

"…Rachel was… going to be eaten… saved her… got bitten…" replied Castiel in between gasps and groans of pain.

"You're aware they're one of the most venomous beings in creation," asked Raphael, although it came out as a statement.

Castiel winced and held back a cry.

"You won't perish, but the poison is obviously affecting you some other way." informed Raphael. He already had his suspicions as to _how _it was affecting him, though until he was completely sure, he would simply keep it to himself.

Castiel's eyes started to change color again; however, rather than escalating to red, it just settled on purple and his brother's pained expression gradually became dazed.

"Elephant behind you…" he murmured.

Raphael took a glance to his back but saw that they were alone in the room. "There's nothing there." he said.

"…It's rolling around…" Castiel went on hazily, as if he did not hear him. "…Now it's raining blue and purple hedgehogs…"

It was official. The poison was making him hallucinate.

"What do I look like to you?" Raphael tested out.

It took a moment for Castiel to answer. "…Underwater cactus… I don't like cactuses." he muttered.

If Raphael were human, he would be sighing in aggravation by now. "I can't simply siphon the poison right out of you at present; it's still heavily attached to your Grace. You will have to make it seep out on your own." he explained.

"…mountains with glass… flying metal boxes…" digressed Castiel.

"Castiel, are you listening?" he bellowed, grasping his brother's sides.

The electricity coursing through his wings must have made its way into his hands and, in turn, to Castiel because the shock of it jolted him out of his stupor and returned his eyes to blue. With his senses no longer dulled, the pain was back with full force and Castiel was back to being in sheer agony.

"Brother, it hurts!" he exclaimed. "Help me, please! It's so much – !" His words were cut off by his own tortured scream. And even when it finally died down, everything about him begged Raphael for mercy, for relief.

Reluctantly, Raphael gave him just that and watched his brother slump into unconsciousness.

* * *

_You have no idea how much I rushed this. It's already 11-something PM here but I'm determined to get this up within this day._

_Thank you so much for being patient and still reading sticking to this story for this long :)  
_


	17. Two

Life has kept me very, very occupied, so I apologize for not updating for almost a month. For the most part, I had to finish my finals in college for the first semester; and if I wasn't busy with that, the recent eps of SPN has kept me in an emotional wreck who locks herself in her room screaming her lungs out… And, recently, my grandmother passed away, which left me in an even worse state.

So, uhm, yeah. Things have calmed down now somewhat. Anyway, onto the story.

* * *

_Torn apart at the seams of my dreams turn to tears_

_I'm not feeling the situation_

_Run away try to find that safe place you can hide_

_It's the best place to be when you're feeling like me_

_._

_All These Things I Hate – Bullet for My Valentine_

* * *

After a short time, Castiel awoke and the pain from his wings assaulted him almost instantly. It was not long before he started hallucinating again. Now, it could just be a coincidence, but Raphael could not help but notice that his brother's writhing and crying stopped the moment that ghastly red light entered his eyes.

"_Help me! _Someone help me, please! _I don't want to die_!" screamed Castiel, practically destroying his bed with his struggles.

Another thing Raphael noticed about him was that, whenever his brother was like this, all traces of pain disappeared from his Grace, although it was replaced by sheer terror. He could also see that the poison would harden and grip onto his essence tighter in this state.

"He's going to kill me! _Please help me! Please!_" Castiel continued to beg. He was staring at every possible direction, desperately seeking aid, though Raphael doubted he was really _seeing_ anything. Besides, he had made the whole chamber soundproof so as to not alarm every angel in Heaven.

In his panic, Castiel did not realize he was about to fall off his bed until it was too late. Luckily, Raphael caught him in time and restrained him in his arms. Castiel squirmed and screamed even harder but Raphael refused to let him go unless he calmed down.

"_Help!_ _Please! _I'm inside the home of a prophet! I'm going to be destroyed!" Castiel madly went on.

That was strange. All Raphael ever heard from him were his imagined threats of being killed, but the mention of prophets? The last prophet had died two hundred and sixty-seven years ago (on Earth-standard), and the next one would not be born for another three hundred and fifty-one years. Surely none of their homes were present now. Then he recalled that the fledgling in his grasp was severely hallucinating, and Raphael thought it was preposterous of him to even consider what was coming out of his brother's mouth.

"Don't let him smite me! Please! I was only doing what's right to save the planet!" cried Castiel.

Throughout the whole pitiful ordeal, Raphael had an urge to just make him unconscious again. However, he knew that that was rarely the solution and he might even end up giving his brother an overdose. As hard as this was, Castiel needed to endure this on his own if he ever wanted to rid himself of the poison.

Eventually, Castiel ran out of energy and his movements began to slow. Soon, he was slumped against Raphael's hold and the light in his eyes melted into purple. Most of the fear he had harbored drained out of him as his expression became a little dazed; by the way his Grace flickered, Raphael was certain that Castiel can feel some of the pain from his wings again, albeit not at full force.

"… I don't know… where I am… Who are all these people… talking to me?" he mumbled, so quietly that Raphael had trouble understanding him. Castiel was shaking now, both from fatigue and the pain building up inside him.

Here, Raphael made another observation: the hallucinations would always be at their peak whenever Castiel's eyes were red. Whenever they were purple – midway from red to blue – the hallucinations were not as strong, and it seemed that he was more connected to reality compared to him having red eyes. The agony on his back would return, to some degree, and there were times when Castiel could still respond to his environment, his _true _environment.

Raphael placed his brother back into his bed, just as the color blue washed over his eyes which signified his return to reality. As expected, Castiel let out a wretched moan and curled into a ball as his back flared with unhindered torture. The single good thing about that was the fact that a few drops of basilisk-poison trickled out of his wound. Now that Raphael thought about it, the only time the poison ever exited his brother's form was when he was in his proper state of mind.

For a while, Raphael simply watched Castiel tremble and whimper without so much as holding him or muttering words of comfort; he never saw the point of those gestures. Regardless, he wondered how much more his brother could take of this, what with him still being such a tiny fledgling.

A long time passed before Castiel had gathered enough strength to look up at Raphael. "W-Why… does it… h-h-hurt… th-this much?" he asked hoarsely.

"To remind you that you are injured and your form needs to repair itself." said Raphael. He essentially recited the words, rather than put real meaning to them, because that was a question he had heard for millennia from countless patients and with an equally countless list of ailments.

Through his haze of pain, Castiel turned a little to be able to look at Raphael better. "Why… can't it… n-not hurt?" he asked. He winced at a particularly sharp throb from his back. "I… I don't… w-want it to hurt."

At that, Raphael could have snorted in derision. "_No one_ 'wants it to hurt'." he stated testily. He then forced himself to soften his tone when he realized his ire was getting the better of him again. "Pain may not always be enjoyable, but it is a good thing. After all, God created pain for a reason." he said.

He was not sure, though it looked like Castiel was tilting his head to the side. "Really?" he weakly inquired.

"Of course." Raphael replied. He sat down beside him. "Without pain, you wouldn't be aware that you have been poisoned, then you wouldn't have been given medical attention. Without pain, there is no point to being careful. Everyone will become reckless and bring more damage, both to themselves and around them. Pain reminds us that we will always be challenged, and it lets us appreciate more what blessings we have." he said.

Castiel appeared to be having a hard time drinking it all in since his back was being constantly assaulted by the excruciating effects of the poison. But he seemed to understand, one way or another; he was on the verge of saying something when he suddenly cried out as the level of agony escalated. Globs of poison dripped out of his wound in the process.

Raphael waited for his fit to end before he spoke up. "How bad does it hurt?" he asked.

Castiel's fragile blue light was flickering in time with the trembles wracking his form. In a partial act of mercy, Raphael placed his wingtip at the wound and let a small, very temporary wave of comfort blanket his brother. The result was instantaneous and some of the stiffness Castiel had left him.

"How bad does it hurt?" Raphael asked again.

It took a while, but Castiel eventually managed to find his voice. "It's like… my Grace and wings… they're being crushed and pushed out of me." he whimpered. "It's like… the poison's sawing them off from the inside…"

Raphael studied his brother's form. He could see the poison deep within him, stuck in the place where the start of his wings and Grace met. It was practically fused to the spot, similar to a huge leech holding onto its host. What Castiel was not aware of was that the poison was also, very slowly, eating away at him; Raphael decided to leave that fact to himself so as to spare his brother any more terrors.

"What about your hallucinations? Can you tell me anything about them?" Raphael went on. He was a professional after all, the best in Heaven, and he could not afford to waste time talking about nonsense.

Castiel's gaze went hazy for a moment and Raphael thought that red or purple light might appear again. "I don't… remember… anything." he said.

That caused Raphael to scrutinize him. "Are you sure? Do not lie to me." he added darkly.

"N-Not… lying. I – " Castiel was cut off when the pain got too much for him and he cried out.

As he lay there, writhing and sniveling, Raphael surmised he had done all that was needed. He blanketed his brother, cleaned up the poison that had dribbled onto the bed and got up. He would have exited the chamber to check on the other patients (three angels were recently admitted into the Infirmary and for some reason they were unable to stop flying backward), but then he felt a light tug at the base of his wing, a touch so trivial he hardly felt it.

Turning, he saw Castiel staring imploringly at him. "Can you please… h-heal me… faster?" he whined.

In all his creation, Raphael believed that he would never experience the feeling of surprise. Now, however, he was proven wrong. A fledgling just asked him – an _archangel_ – to do something; he had been basically given an order by his younger sibling. This was unheard of! He could only imagine how Michael and Gabriel would react.

Castiel must be in so much pain that he was desperate enough to make a request to an archangel.

"It doesn't work that way." said Raphael forebodingly, referring to both the medical complexities tied to his brother's condition and the fact that he was being told what to do. "The poison is so adhered to your Grace that removing all or most of it at once would cause your Grace to rip as well. And if the poison comes into direct contact with my energy, it would draw strength from me and seize your Grace tighter and consume you faster. You're the only one who can truly help yourself, but you have to _focus_ _and_ _stop_ _griping_." he said seriously, putting extreme emphasis on the last few words.

Castiel looked like he was on the brink of crying, although it was unclear whether he got scared by what Raphael stated or his wound was sending bursts of pain through him again.

"I will help you when necessary, though with the rate of your… 'progress,' I suppose it would take some time before this is over." added Raphael.

Whatever response Castiel had to give to that, Raphael did not hear it as he left.

O_x

Raphael returned to the topmost chamber to find that it was empty, which was mostly highlighted by the uncustomary silence. Upon this discovery, he literally stormed out of the room, with lightning and thunder erupting all around him, to seek out the nearest Healers and pour his wrath down on them.

"_Where is he_?" he boomed when he spotted a Healer two levels below.

"W-Who, sir?" she stuttered.

"Castiel! Who else?" yelled Raphael. He had made it clear to the whole Infirmary that the fledgling would be under his supervision, so as to prevent any other patients to be sent to him, and the fact that she had even asked such a question made it difficult for him to refrain from smiting her.

"I don't know, sir. No one has reported anything." she squeaked, frightened.

Gigantic bolts of lightning leaped out from his wings and struck the hallways. "_Find him!_ He must not leave the Infirmary!" he boomed.

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir." she said worriedly. In less than a millisecond, she was gone.

The thunder and lightning emanating from Raphael eventually died down and he forced himself to assess the situation more calmly. Castiel should not have been able to get out in the first place; he, Raphael, had the entire chamber filled with sigils and other enchantments powerful enough to be executed only by archangels. Raphael should have at least been notified that his patient had escaped.

It did not take long for the entire place to be swarming with Healers as they frantically searched for Castiel. Soon, Raphael had set off on his own search just as the Infirmary was locked down.

He began a top-to-bottom search, going at a speed quicker than lightning. His presence was as ominous and conspicuous as a big storm cloud and everyone immediately got out of his way. Raphael scanned every nook and cranny, trying to pinpoint a smidgeon of Castiel's Grace or even hints of basilisk poison. And after what could be counted as several hours' worth of searching, he was alarmed that he could not find his brother.

That was when Raphael's thoughts raced chaotically through his mind. What if Castiel had already gotten out of the Infirmary and was now wandering Heaven, possibly infecting other unsuspecting angels? What if he was hallucinating again and he accidentally hurt himself or plunged toward Earth or…

Raphael abruptly stopped thinking. Why did he suddenly sound like he was concerned over his brother? He had never been concerned over anyone, not since the time after the Fall.

He shook his head in an effort to clear his mind and took flight once more, scouring the halls and chambers. It was not until Raphael was at an uninhabited region of the Infirmary did he became aware of a few specks of dark liquid on the floor, and they still seemed to be fresh.

He landed and started to follow a now noticeable trail. The droplets were inconsistent, as Raphael learned: sometimes, they were hardly detectable and the next batch would not turn up until after four or five hallways; other times, there would be a thick puddle of the dark liquid, which would stretch on for at least two chambers.

Finally, Castiel's small, wobbling form appeared in the distance. His back was sticky with the poison that had seeped out and his formerly downy wings were also slick and filthy because of the foul substance.

Raphael approached him slowly and decided to stay out of his brother's line of sight for the moment. When he checked his eyes, he saw that they were mostly purple, with traces of blue around the edges. He vaguely wondered what was going through his mind right now… then he dismissed the entire thing as nonsense and stepped forward to pick up his brother.

Unfortunately, what should have been a quick process turned into a fervent struggle as Castiel's eyes changed to red. "No!" he screamed, scrambling out of Raphael's reach. He slipped on some of the spilled poison on the floor and fell down, albeit not once did he stop trying to retreat.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" Castiel whimpered, and despite the fact that his wings were virtually severed from him, he still attempted to move them and use them to hide himself. They hardly so much as bent forward and Raphael already found the sight to be degrading and pitiable. As Castiel was doing his best to move his uncoordinated self, Raphael scooped him up and proceeded to return him to his chamber.

"Spare me! Please! _Please!_" yelled Castiel. He was thrashing around in Raphael's hold, and if he were not an archangel, he would have suffered injuries already from the frantic blows and kicks.

"Hold still!" growled Raphael, although he knew it was pointless commanding him in this condition.

He glanced at Castiel's back and saw that the poison, as expected, had stopped trickling from his wound and was solidifying, like a scab forming on human flesh. If this kept up, the poison would be bonded to Castiel permanently, and this just proved that the poison only seeped out of him when Castiel was sane and actually had a semblance of control over himself.

As a last resort, Raphael sent Castiel into a semi-conscious state to calm him down, lest his brother snapped his wings off in his mad squirming. Castiel went lax almost instantly; Raphael did not hesitate to fly him back to the top of the Infirmary.

Somewhere along the way, the light in Castiel's eyes changed to purple and he began mumbling things again:

"Have to save him… I must… s-save… him…"

It was as if Castiel was living some other world whenever he was hallucinating, a world that involved prophets, saving the world, facing the constant threat of being killed and now rescuing someone. Raphael was beginning to suspect that the hallucinations were no longer as random as they seemed to be.

He wondered just what exactly his brother was seeing.

TBC

* * *

_I (hope?) swear things will all make sense in the last chapter. ^^_

_Also, is anyone else depressed/pissed that Misha won't be around for at least 1o episodes? D8_

_…also, have you all heard that Jared's gonna be a father? :D_

_That is all :)_


	18. Three

A/N: I apologize for the delay. GISHWHES and a new, hectic semester at college are keeping me busy… mostly GISHWHES ^^

* * *

_We march out of the darkness_

_We revel in the flames_

_The mission is accomplished_

_We're ready for the change_

_And the only thing that will set us free is living through the pain_

_And the only thing that I'll guarantee, we'll never be the same_

_._

_March Out of the Darkness – Papa Roach_

* * *

If there was an actual, _physical_ door that lead to the topmost chamber, Raphael would have brutally kicked it open and pay no attention to the loud bang that almost ripped it off its hinges. As he crossed the threshold, he noticed that a few of the sigils bordering the room were smudged and rendered useless. Upon closer inspection, he learned that the cause was droplets of basilisk poison, which seems to be highly effective in cancelling out wards. That would explain how Castiel was able to escape.

Raphael looked down at his brother whom he held; his eyes were still purple, keeping him in a dazed state.

"Castiel," said Raphael sternly as he put him down onto the bed. When his brother did not acknowledge him, he reached out and brashly shook him, and he was not at all ashamed to have unintentionally released a spurt of lightning. "_Castiel_!"

That got a reaction as Castiel jolted and blue washed over his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked, hoarse and utterly confused, after a long moment.

Even as a huge wave of agony crashed into his brother's Grace, the smallest amount of sympathy never registered in Raphael. "Why did you leave this chamber?" he thundered.

Amidst the torment and the fatigue, Castiel managed to lift his head and meet his gaze. "I... left…?" he began.

"I told you to stay here. The whole Infirmary's in chaos because of you." snapped Raphael.

Castiel's expression became distant, as if he was trying to recall something. In the process, traces of purple entered his eyes. "Getting scary… had to… escape…" he muttered.

"Haven't you realized by now that the implausible things you're seeing are mere illusions spawned by the poison?" bellowed Raphael, bolts of lightning crackling off his wings.

However, by now, the bits of purple in his brother's eyes were starting to push away the blueness again. "They're coming for me…" Castiel murmured, whimpering a little. "So many of them…"

Maybe it was frustration, maybe it was concern, but Raphael sat down on the bed and forced the lightning to stop bursting out of his form. "Brother, listen to me: you're being a fool and a coward for allowing the poison consume you. What you're doing is taking the easy way out, and we all know that path is not a true exit and solution."

It did not matter what Castiel was 'seeing'. He was saying this because he could see that Castiel was beginning to give up, that he was considering of letting the poison swallow his Grace if that meant he could be in his hallucination-induced world where the pain did not affect him. Raphael's own Grace pulsed slightly in an act of pity. From what he had gathered, the hallucinations were horrifying for his brother, and yet he still chose them over the real torture the poison was inflicting on him.

"The pain may vanish, but at what cost? You lose your sanity to these hallucinations; you drift apart from your own family." Raphael went on, stating the last words as a fact rather than having a sentimental meaning.

Regardless, the purple light flickered out and left a dull, washed-up blue in its wake. "I-I'm trying… to overcome it." said Castiel weakly.

"Not hard enough." replied Raphael. He studied his brother's tiny, miserable form. "Do you want it to stop hurting?" he asked.

With what strength he had, Castiel nodded.

"Then _make it _stop. It won't go away by itself." said Raphael coldly.

Castiel trembled as a particularly alarming flare of pain rippled through him. "I don't think I can do it." he sniveled.

Raphael rose to his full height. "The decision rests with you. Either succumb to the effects and live out the rest of eternity in a twisted fantasy, free of agony but full of horrors, or deal with the suffering and stay connected to everything you hold dear." he said. He made sure Castiel was listening to him before he added, in a quieter tone, "Pain is trying to anchor you to what is real. Remember that."

He turned and approached the spot where the line of sigils had been broken and redrew the ruined symbols. Raphael was supposed to leave the chamber and his brother without another word, but he sensed the feeble pulses of Castiel's Grace calling out to him, almost begging to him like a human child who was scared to be alone.

When Raphael, reluctantly, faced his brother, he was met with the saddest, most pitifully frightened expression he had ever encountered in his life. Gabriel had once or twice coined this as the 'kicked puppy look,' and while Raphael understood the phrase enough, it was only at this moment did a sliver of compassion made its way into his Grace. He would never admit it though, especially to him.

As the cold, hissing light of his Grace fairly softened, he went over to Castiel's bed once more. "Would you like it if I invited some of the members of your garrison here some time?" Raphael asked with uncharacteristic (partial) tenderness.

Castiel, on the verge of crying, wiped his eyes and gave a timid nod.

"Alright. If your condition improves, I'll send them a message." said Raphael resignedly. He made his way toward the exit again, this time taking great care ignore the intense fear and desperation riddling his brother's Grace.

"Rest. And remain _inside_ this chamber." he added pointedly.

O_x

Raphael was organizing his records in his study, and every so often he would turn his attention to the activities of Earth to monitor the tiniest supernatural fluctuation. While he was reviewing the documents of an odd case of an angel's Grace rapidly changing color and shape, a presence outside his study made itself known to him. Frustrated by the intrusion, Raphael nevertheless got up and went to see the visitor.

"Sir, may I have a moment?" the angel asked once they were face to face. Shimmering yellow light was emanating from him, a signature that was so unmistakable that Raphael already knew who he was before they could even directly see each other.

"What do you want, Azazel?" he barked.

Most angels would have flinched from his menacing tone; Azazel _pretended _to be scared simply as an attempt to humor him. "I… simply wish to inform you that one of my blades have been stolen." he stated.

"You came up to me to report about a petty thievery?" growled Raphael.

"Let me explain," Azazel began smoothly. "This blade – I made it myself, you see, so it's not a typical weapon. I even brought it here with me to safeguard it, despite my injuries." he explained, gesturing at the tattered wings he had suffered after his previous mission.

"This is of no concern to me." said Raphael warningly.

He made a move to return to his study, when suddenly he felt Azazel grab hold of him. At once, rage welled up inside Raphael, not only because he was being stopped by an angel of lower rank, but also the fact that he had received contact without his consent. Archangels were highly revered; the air surrounding them should even be treated with veneration. He would have struck Azazel with a thousand lightning bolts on the spot just to remind him of his place but the same angel interrupted him from doing so.

"_Listen_. This blade is extremely dangerous in inexperienced hands, which is basically everyone other than me. It's a prototype, the first of its kind, and it was lost from me when the Infirmary went crazy and locked down." Azazel declared, abandoning all forms of pleasantries. "The blade responds to the thoughts and emotions of any angel wielding it. It can bend reality to a degree. The slightest notion can have a phenomenal effect." he continued stressfully.

That was indeed somewhat pressing. "I assume you've _at least _tried to search for it." said Raphael lowly.

"I've been doing that since things went back to normal around here." retorted Azazel. "The only place left is the top, that's why I came to you." he said in a hushed tone, like this was a grave secret meant solely for them.

The Infirmary was still under lockdown, so there was no way the blade could have been taken outside. Someone must have it, and if Azazel did not find the culprit in the lower levels, that could mean that the blade had been taken to the place where only Raphael had unhindered access to. And other than him, there was merely one other angel who had gone there.

All of a sudden, the whole Infirmary shook as if in the middle of a powerful quake. Then the tremors became a succession of shockwaves, almost as if an attack was taking place, and blast after blast was hitting the walls. Raphael traced the source and found that it was inside the Infirmary.

"And I think someone's already using my blade." stated Azazel exasperatedly.

Another shockwave was all it took to get them both racing to the highest level of the Infirmary. When they reached the level just before the peak, they were stunned to see fire blazing in the halls and a wide array of chains and hooks strung up on the ceiling. The Healers in the area were either trying to extinguish the flames or getting their patients to safety, although the former did not seem to have that much of an effect.

At the topmost chamber, unlike what was happening below, every inch was as dark as the most remote folds of the universe, although something would occasionally creep out of the shadows or fleetingly burst through the hauntingly empty veils: apparitions of demons going back and forth and raking the floor with their claws in the process, harsh flashes of light that cut through the fringes of Raphael and Azazel's wings like heavenly knives, and anguished screams from nonexistent humans echoing throughout the place.

"How can a fledgling fabricate this monstrosity?" asked Azazel, tense and quiet.

Raphael would have questioned him how he knew it was a fledgling that was being housed here, but then he recalled announcing to the entire Infirmary of his patient, as well as not to send any more to him. Nonetheless, there was a part of him that wished another angel had gotten hold of Azazel's blade and had simply scurried off to the farthest point in the Infirmary.

But then he recalled the fearful reactions Castiel had made whenever he was deeply hallucinating, and after taking in the sights around them, he found it harder to believe this could be conceived by anyone else. Basically, he found it harder to believe Castiel had not gone completely mad by now if this was what he had to endure.

The darkness, particularly the things coming out of it, was making it difficult for them to locate Castiel; even Raphael's Grace was uncertain which direction to take next since Castiel's essence was somehow totally blocked from him.

Unexpectedly, a frail whimper pierced its way out of the gloom, and for Raphael, that was the equivalent of seeing a glimmer of sunlight. He traced it, dragging Azazel along, and soon enough there was Castiel, curled up into a ball of flickering blue light in a small corner and eyes glowing an appalling shade of red. The blade was held firmly in his grip, poised in a way that was ready to strike anything that came too close to him.

Raphael stepped forward into his brother's line of sight. "Castiel, drop the weapon." he commanded.

His presence must have scared Castiel even more than he currently was, because the red in his eyes actually got brighter and his grasp on the blade more desperate. "You're going to kill me." he sobbed.

"I'm not going to kill you." insisted Raphael, using a calmer voice.

"I disobeyed. You kill those who disobey." Castiel prattled on. Tears in the form of light were streaming down his face; meanwhile, the poison within him appeared to have hardened.

"Put down the blade." said Raphael as he advanced on him.

He had to stop when faded images of bloody humans, hundreds of them, materialized and the scene reminded Raphael of the massacres the people of Earth had done to their own people. What was horrifying was that the humans were all staring at Castiel, as if accusing him that it was his fault they were like this. Then, spiteful cackling filled the air, albeit that sound of twisted laughter was not ordinary, because Raphael only ever heard that once and that had been when he visited Hell.

"Leave me alone… please." sniveled Castiel, doing everything he can to shrink into himself even more. It dawned on Raphael that the reason Castiel had taken the blade in the first place was so that he could have something to protect himself with against these ghastly visions.

Raphael sensed a few of the Healers land behind him, clearly wanting to assist in subjugating Castiel. "Do not take him on." he advised them. He turned to Azazel. "Azazel, this is your device. Come with me." he instructed.

The two of them quickly formulated a plan: the gist was Raphael holding Castiel's attention while Azazel snuck up on him from the side to have a chance at nabbing the blade.

"Castiel, do you know where you are?" inquired Raphael in the most soothing voice he could muster.

For a minute, Castiel stared at him with mistrust and trepidation as he shakily pointed the blade at him. Then, ever so slowly, he shook his head.

At that, Raphael inched nearer. "Set the blade aside and you can return to Heaven." he said.

Castiel did not put the blade down, but the red glow in his eyes weakened a little and swirls of purple were starting to appear. Suddenly, images of vicious hellhounds ran in between them, and the redness of Castiel's eyes returned with full force. He scrambled to the left, and it was there where he discovered Azazel sneaking up on him.

"_Demon_!" shrieked Castiel, stumbling to the opposite way. "Don't touch me! Don't take me to Hell!" he cried out.

Even though Azazel's cover was blown, he still made an attempt to snatch his blade; however, Castiel was too fast for him and staggered deeper into the darkness to hide. The Healers present began to pursue him just as the chamber filled up with more gruesome apparitions.

Raphael absorbed the chaos happening everywhere, and he came to the conclusion that the extent of Castiel's hallucinations were connected to whatever was going on in reality. In a nutshell, the more Castiel got terrified in the real world, the more extreme the hallucinations were, and the blade was manifesting pretty much everything.

"Everyone, leave!" yelled Raphael.

"But – " Azazel protested.

"Do as I say!" he hollered.

Immediately, the Healers flew out of the chamber. Raphael glared at Azazel for a moment before he also took flight. He might as well try to reduce the bedlam here; the last thing he needed was petrifying Castiel out of his senses. Force, for the moment, was not needed in the situation; rather, what Raphael had to do was be as harmless as possible so he could coax his brother out of the hole he had dug himself into.

Frankly, using force would have been much easier for him.

The chamber, despite its severe tarnishes, was nevertheless very familiar to Raphael, so at least he would not have to worry about getting lost. The blade may have added a nightmarish touch to the room, but it did by no means expand its space. He navigated through the chamber with ease, searching for Castiel the old fashioned way.

The sole interruptions he had were the manifested figments of his brother's hallucinations passing him by or filling up the edges of his vision. They were merely pictures though, convincing as they were, with no solid form of their own. They could not really hurt him or anyone else, which was a blessing since it was an absolute war-zone here. Figures of angels were either lying dead or dying, and the room was caught in some erratic storm of Heavenly light and demonic shadows.

Raphael ignored the mocking whispers, the sight of angel blades falling from above like a downpour, the spills of blood and traces of ash on the floor, and he essentially ignored the sheer _apocalyptic_ signs that seemed to be shown on every apparition. How, in the name of the Father, was Castiel able to have such detail on this matter?

After what felt like an eon, he located Castiel attempting to fight off a horde of imaginary attackers. Raphael was uncertain if his pathetic fighting skills were because the poison was draining his prowess, or if his brother was truly poor at combat. Whatever the reason, Castiel looked as if he would fall over at the slightest, clumsiest jab of Azazel's blade.

His brother appeared weaker and more afraid, and his light was at its dullest. In fact, if he was not striving to fend off his hallucinations, he would be collapsing in extreme exhaustion now. Castiel was at his limit, and if the poison will not finish him, his burnt out Grace surely will.

For what was like the fiftieth time since he went up to the chamber, Raphael repressed the instinct to unleash a barrage of lightning bolts. He gradually approached Castiel the second the dreadful images in front of him evaporated with a sinister guffaw.

"What makes you sure that what you're seeing is real?" Raphael started gently.

Castiel fell backward, whimpering. He had the blade up and pointed it at him but his grip was lopsided and not as tight as before.

"Do you remember the basilisk sinking its teeth into you?" continued Raphael.

Castiel scurried over to a darker corner and proceeded to hide under his deformed wings. Albeit, Raphael caught a glance of his brother's eyes taking on a suggestion of purple. The blade slipped a bit in his hold, and absentmindedly, Castiel reached over to his right wingtip to caress the rumpled feathers.

"Do you like what is happening?" Raphael stated, getting closer.

There was a sniffle underneath the flimsy shield of down-feathers. Eventually, Castiel's tiny head peaked out of his wings and gave a barely noticeable shake.

Raphael crouched down until they were separated by a breath's length. "Do you want to spend the rest of your existence like this? None of this is real, you know that." he told him steadfastly.

A considerable flash of purple streaked across his red eyes briefly. "I'm… n-not sure – " stammered Castiel.

He was reaching him, Raphael was positive of it. Regardless, he could not help but ponder over how far Castiel had sunk with the poison. No matter how bad the hallucinations were, it was guaranteed that the excruciating backlash once he snapped out of it was always much, much worse in comparison. Before he succumbed to the visions, Castiel must have experienced a degree of agony so unbearable that he slipped under the numb safety of the poison, in spite of the consequences.

"Do you want your garrison to see you in such a state?" asked Raphael in a more hushed voice.

At that, Castiel sat up a little straighter and wiped the tears from his eyes. For a moment, he seemed to be 'waking up' in the same way humans do when they wrench their minds out of their own nightmares, groggy and uncertain of what was going on. His eyes were presently a mixture of red and purple and his familiar expression of wide-eyed curiosity was slowly beginning to seep into his features again.

Raphael could practically hear the words he had told him when they returned to the chamber echo in Castiel's head: '_The pain may vanish, but at what cost? You lose your sanity to these hallucinations; you drift apart from your own family_'. The fledgling may be stupid, naïve and timid but he loved his family more than anything.

Gradually, Castiel's tense posture slackened and his panic gave way to something akin to comprehension. However, just as he was on the verge of breaking free of the poison's influence, an image of an aggressive holy fire appeared and encircled Castiel. His brother screamed when he believed he was trapped and the red glow was vibrant in his eyes once more.

And there, Raphael saw it: the poison deep inside Castiel was reacting, defending itself and manipulating the thoughts of its host. Despite its power, it was four times smaller than its original size, and if Castiel simply had enough strength, he could remove it within a short amount time and permanently end this. The poison, figuratively, was on its last legs and it was doing everything it can to remain latched onto Castiel's form.

As the imaginary ring of holy fire got taller and hotter, Raphael reached for his brother, although Castiel doubted the trustworthiness of his nature again and sidled to the very end of the circle. He covered his face and started whimpering bits of various prayers.

"Brother, give me the blade. I will help you." said Raphael, still reaching to him.

Castiel shivered at the word 'brother'. He glanced up and tentatively held out Azazel's blade in a defensive stance. Purple flitted across his eyes.

"Come home." whispered Raphael.

He did not notice it at first, but over time, Raphael became aware of a shift in the air. He surveyed the chamber and discovered that the heavy darkness was actually receding. The demons, the shadows, the dying humans and angels were all disappearing; the stink of sulfur, blood and decay gave way to Heaven's fragrance. The crying and screaming from a multitude of fake voices were swallowed up by the eternal peace of the realm.

Then, Raphael heard something clatter to the floor, followed by a soft thud. He looked back at Castiel and saw that his brother was lying on his side and Azazel's smoking blade was adjacent to him. Quickly, Raphael shoved the blade to the far end of the chamber and gingerly cradled Castiel.

His brother was barely conscious, utterly exhausted from overpowering the massive visions. Nonetheless, Raphael was relieved to see the last of the basilisk poison exiting Castiel's wound.

"You have at last accepted it," murmured Raphael.

O_x

"Sir, we have finished analyzing the basilisk that attacked Castiel." spoke one of the Healers Raphael had assigned to go to Earth.

"And?" pressed Raphael.

"You were right, sir; it's not an ordinary one." he responded. "A handful of the Greek deities thought it would be amusing to bestow upon the creature the gift of divination." he scoffed.

"How credible is its ability?" asked Raphael somberly.

"It was constructed by Greek deities, sir." he chuckled. They always considered the other deities to be foolish enough to think they could rival Heaven's power, much like a chicken believing itself to be able to out-fly an eagle. Therefore, it was likely that the creature's 'gift' was incredibly faulty.

"What of the basilisk itself?" Raphael went on.

"Contained." the Healer replied confidently.

"And Zachariah?"

"Shrunk down to the size of a pea, serving his time in dung beetle territory, just as you have instructed."

For some, that would have been cruel and unusual punishment; but for Raphael, he blamed Zachariah for everything that had recently transpired. The Infirmary was yet to be fully reconstructed and a number of the patients had had their conditions worsened.

"Good. That will be all." said Raphael. He did not stay long enough to see the Healer bow all the way since he swiftly flew up to the topmost chamber.

Upon entering, the first thing he registered was the sight of a wide array of objects beside the threshold. They were all from Castiel's garrison; Raphael recalled one of the fledglings mention the words 'Get well soon presents' when they paid their injured comrade a short visit. The pile was composed of a random assortment of items: flowers from the Garden, vials of starlight, a necklace fashioned out of dewdrops from Earth, a feather from each member of the garrison and boxes containing the new songs they had learned while Castiel was confined to the Infirmary.

"He is much loved." Raphael mentally observed.

Straight ahead, Castiel was sitting up on his bed and had his back to him. He had an iridescent balm applied to his wound to help his form heal faster and his Grace replenish. His wings were still shabby and ragged at the edges but it was on the path to regaining its fluffiness. Even without using his medical knowledge, Raphael noted that his brother was, up until now, very, very, very weary.

"Thank the Father this is your last day in this place." commented Raphael, simply to break the uncustomary silence in the chamber.

Castiel sluggishly turned to meet his gaze, and despite the fact that his brother's eyes were still dull, Raphael was just relieved to see that the blue within them was steady. "I still can't remember what I saw." mumbled Castiel.

That must have been why he was so quiet, because he was deep in thought. "For all our sakes, it's for the best." remarked Raphael.

He was met with a slight head-tilt.

"You're healing, that's all that matters." Raphael said, instead of explaining further. He studied his brother for a long moment. "As a soldier, things will only get harder from this point. You should be ready that there are worse circumstances to come." he stated impassively.

"I accept that." said Castiel. His tone of voice had changed from the sniveling, pathetic whines of before into one that knew how to carry a burden in a complicated reality.

"I believe you have finally learned the first philosophy of pain," said Raphael, almost in a whisper.

"There's more?" Castiel inquired.

"Pain isn't just about highlighting the negative aspects. Father created everything with detriments _and _benefits, which keeps reality in balance." elucidated Raphael. "Pain is a sign that we are alive, and in most cases it shows that we are actually doing something with our lives. Not only that, it helps us see what's really important, and we learn to value what we have." He paused, then added, "It brings out character, as well as develops it."

Castiel's expression was both understanding and inquisitive. He appeared to want to say something, though Raphael cut him off.

"You still have a long road ahead of you, but from what I have seen, there's a possibility that you can make a decent soldier." he said. Castiel did not exactly have the best fighting skills or the most power an angel of his rank could wield; however, he had the kind of determination that would put half the angels to shame.

Before leaving, Raphael gave Castiel one last pulse of healing from his Grace, enough to assist him through his remaining time in the Infirmary. Then, as he got up, his brother gently brushed his wingtip to grab his attention.

"Thank you." said Castiel.

And somehow, Raphael knew it was more than the healing.

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_Little trivia for you guys: apparently, Raph's the one who cast down Azazel. I discovered that while I was doing research and it was impossible _not _to include ol' YED! Also, if you look up Azazel, there's some mention that he's involved in making weapons and stuff._

_And as for the next angel? Well, no hints this time; I'll tell it to you straight: it's Zachariah._

_I know, it sucks, but I have to do it. I don't wanna be biased or anything. I'm just giving you a warning if you don't wanna read Zachariah's part. Besides, would you rather have Zach's story to be the last one? Might as well get Zach out of the way for the big finale._


	19. To Work For Zachariah

AN: You guys have no idea just how much I've missed this story (even though I'm writing Zachariah).

A thousand apologies for the delay! College has been murdering me every week.

* * *

_Golden soldiers born much older than they'll ever live to be._

_Diving into a sea of hands in a long forgotten city._

_Here the rain falls ever after, the strangled vines hang dead in rafters._

_The blood rushed to your head induces a laughter, endlessly._

_._

_Original Fire – Audioslave_

* * *

At that moment, Castiel believed he had never flown faster.

He would say that he was reveling in the feeling of pure exhilaration, if only his well-being was not at stake. It was getting harder to suppress his fear, which seemed to increase with every frantic wing-beat, but he kept trying to squash it down because the last thing he needed was his thinking being clouded by emotions.

Hundreds of trees whizzed by in the darkness as he madly hurtled through the claw-like boughs in an attempt to shake off his pursuers. Unfortunately, they were unrelenting and just as keen on getting what they want, which so happened to be him.

"_Thief! Thief!_" the two harpies screeched after him.

Castiel hated to be called that, hated it with all his being. He knew stealing was wrong but he was simply following orders, and disobedience was a far worse crime than theft. He kept telling himself that as he forced his wings to move more quickly and his grip on his burden to tighten.

The land stretched on and the harpies began ruthlessly attacking him, attacks which Castiel could barely defend himself against because he was too focused on flying, on getting out of the area full of spells and wards that prevented him from traveling to Heaven instantly and putting an end to this horror. And also because he did not have the strength to fight back, not right now.

If he were in his peak condition, there would be no problem in battling two harpies. However, the day had terribly worn him down; he had to go up against other dreadful creatures to obtain the ingredients he required. None of the tasks were easy, and Castiel found it a miracle that he still had the energy to stay ahead of the harpies.

In the distance, he could see the trees clearing up, and the rocks and crevices of a mountain wall steadily gaining more detail. He just had to make it to the other side of the mountain and he could finally transport to Heaven.

Suddenly, one of the harpies managed to tackle him and sent them both plummeting off a cliff, down into a huge, gaping chasm. Throughout their descent, she shrieked and raked at his form to snatch the object he had stolen from them.

"_Thief! Give it back!_" she yelled.

Castiel refused to look at her entirely. There was something about harpies that disturbed a small part inside him, perhaps it was that they appeared to be the perverted manifestation of angels: their wings ugly and stinking of decay, their bodies hardly any different from those they had mutilated, their beings rich in savage emotions and the mere thought of survival.

He shielded his load as much as he was able to while her talons slashed at him. Castiel was doing fine in not crying out in pain, until it came to the point where she struck awfully close to where his Grace was and he nearly dropped his cargo in the process. If this went on, he or his load or both will be reduced to shreds.

In an act of desperation, Castiel let go of his load, allowing it to enter into free-fall. The harpy attached to him watched in a mixture of disbelief and rage as his bundle escaped him. Her distraction granted Castiel the opportunity to unleash a small portion of his Grace, enough to simply stun and momentarily blind the harpy.

She howled in pain and her claws automatically released him; she descended in an inelegant spiral and landed on a ledge. Once Castiel was sure that she will not be bothering him for a while, he swiftly chased after his cargo, which was already several meters from him.

The whole attempt was a risky maneuver; there was a chance that he would lose his precious load to the abyss if he had been a second too late, and the reason he let it drop in the first place was to avoid the light of his Grace searing it, not to mention prevent the harpy from damaging it in her fury. Thankfully, he no longer had to worry about that as his hands wrapped around the wool blanket that securely covered his stolen object.

The other side of the mountain was just a few miles beyond him, and in Castiel's eagerness, he had forgotten about the remaining harpy until he was rammed against the rocky wall.

"_Thief! Wretched thief!_" she screamed.

Castiel struggled futilely against her hold, already feeling much more weakened after he had drained himself from revealing his Grace. He could not risk doing that again, or anything else that bordered along that degree.

"_Give it back! Thief!_" the harpy continued shrieking.

With his options running out, Castiel drew his blade and, with a whispered apology, stabbed the harpy's chest, just below where her heart should be, or at least he hoped that that was the correct spot. The wound ought to inconvenience her but not kill. Castiel turned away from the pained, mortified expression that would most likely be on the harpy's face as he felt her talons unclench from him and heard her fading screeches.

He wished he could have a moment to recover, albeit he knew that he cannot afford to waste time on something as silly as tending to possible trauma. Castiel trained his eyes above and headed for Zachariah's office.

O_x

"Welcome back." said Zachariah, although there was a hint in his voice that gave Castiel the idea that he was not pleased. "I trust that you've accomplished your task, given that you are eight seconds late," he cuttingly went on.

Castiel held his ground, which was a difficult accomplishment given that he was utterly exhausted and unnerved at the way his superior was analyzing him. "Yes, sir." he responded.

He glanced up and saw that Zachariah still had a somewhat bitter aura.

"My apologies for being late." Castiel added timidly.

That got a more positive effect out of Zachariah as his expression slackened. He took the object Castiel held in his hands – the object that Castiel had nearly died for multiple times – and unwrapped the protective blanket to reveal a lengthy, beautifully designed holy branch.

Zachariah began to inspect the branch, and Castiel was certain that he was checking for any mistakes and inaccuracies rather than admiring or appreciating the extremely hard work he had put into it. After all, the sole purpose of the branch was simply to be new the centerpiece in Zachariah's office because he was getting bored with the old one: a miniature sculpture of the seventh star in creation made out of amber-polished pterodactyl bones.

"Did this come from the twenty-seventh birch tree in the patch?" asked Zachariah.

"Yes, sir." Castiel replied.

"Was it cut at precisely nine and a half feet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Under the angle of the autumn moon on its third hour?"

"Yes, sir."

"Smoothened by the front teeth of a chimera?"

"Yes, sir."

"Heated by newborn salamanders?"

"Yes, sir."

"Tip dipped in raven's blood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sprinkled with liquid diamond and crushed manticore bones?"

"Yes, sir."

With every affirmation he gave, Castiel could virtually feel himself returning to all the trouble he had been through. Fighting monsters to acquire their teeth and bones, going to the farthest and most hostile edges of the Earth to find the proper materials, meticulously ensuring that every measurement was _exact_…

"There's a scratch on it." Zachariah remarked.

If Castiel was in possession of a heart, it would have skipped a beat.

"There's only one place where a thing like this belongs to, and that's the trash." said Zachariah with as much resolution as their Father when He decided to Create.

If Castiel focused enough, he could hear the low snarls of his superior's lion face in the background before Zachariah incinerated the holy branch right in front of him, like it was nothing more than a common candle to burn and waste away.

Somehow, Castiel maintained an expressionless façade even though his Grace withered a tad.

Before he was even aware of it, Zachariah was deliberately circling him like a predator assessing its trapped prey. "Have you encountered… difficulties along the way?" he asked, and Castiel wished to believe that he was actually concerned about his welfare.

"Well – "

"Don't answer that. If there were problems – ones that are significant enough to concern me – then you wouldn't even be standing upright now, would you? Or you wouldn't have even shown up to my office in the first place." stated Zachariah derisively.

All Castiel could do was bow his head, in humility, in fear, in embarrassment, in anguish, he was not sure. The only thing he was certain of was that he wanted nothing more than to leave the office, and perhaps find rest and solace in his garrison. But he had to persevere, he needed to. This was a requirement for all fledglings, to work under someone who was older and several ranks higher than them to gain experience. Some called it special tutorials, while others called it training for absolute service. The rest, in hushed tones, defined it as doing tedious chores for their lazy, abusive superiors.

No one could select who they will work under, every pairing was randomly chosen and it was just Castiel's luck that he had gotten Zachariah. And the law mentioned that a fledgling must continue to work until his or her superior was satisfied, which in Zachariah's case was not likely to happen any decade soon.

Castiel then felt a hand land on his head in a deceptive act of compassion as Zachariah led them to one of the largest windows he had in his office. The view overlooked one of the rarities in Heaven: an ocean. The shade of blue was so magnificent that angels were often left awestruck by it. Even the waves were to behold as they were hypnotically calming, yet the way they undulated showed that they have the potential of instantly causing massive destruction.

"Heaven is perfect, Castiel. Everything within it is precise and must function without fault." began Zachariah. "I work hard to keep it that way, which is why I expect nothing less than perfection from _any_ results. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." said Castiel.

"Remember, I'm doing this for your own good. You need to learn that reality's a tough place, and if you can't do a job right, don't bother doing it at all." said Zachariah, a threatening tone lining his voice. He grabbed hold of Castiel's form and turned him around so they faced each other. "If someone asks you if you're hurt, you say…?"

"I'm fine." Castiel dutifully responded.

"If they ask for your opinion on a topic," continued Zachariah.

"My opinion is not important."

"If they question your actions,"

"I'm a soldier of Heaven. I carry out God's word and His will is just."

"And?"

Castiel tried to find the right words. "I am following the orders of my superior and he is never wrong. I am honored to be in his service." he concluded.

"Good. Now I want you to fly along to the Learning Halls and prepare the lecture theater I had reserved for my sermons. I'm expecting a big audience and I need everything to go accordingly." said Zachariah in the most cheerful manner someone like him could muster. He went to the opposite end of his office and gathered up three very big sacks.

"Here, you'll need these for setting up the room." he said, practically dumping them at Castiel.

For a moment, Castiel merely stared at the sacks that were pretty much blocking his view of Zachariah; that was probably because the sacks were _taller _than him. He tested the weight of one and discovered that, if he were a human child, he supposed he would then have to carry three huge sacks filled with boulders. And in his currently fatigued condition, he wondered if he would even be able to haul just one of them.

"Get going. Go on." said Zachariah.

Reluctantly, Castiel obeyed.

O_x

The sacks contained a tremendous quantity of herbs, chalk and charcoal, and gems and minerals. Herbs to provide a 'stimulating' atmosphere; chalk and charcoal for putting up sigils all over the theater that promoted wisdom, guidance and prosperity; and lastly, gems and minerals to be strategically placed in the room to add a bit of splendor.

The lecture theater Zachariah had reserved was one of the largest in all of Heaven, and Castiel was on the brink of collapsing.

He decided to venture out of the theater for a moment; he had to clear his system of the pungent herbs that were starting to become noxious to his senses. Without any concern if someone might see him, Castiel let himself slump to the floor and lean sloppily on the wall by the door. He still had to set up the finishing touches, he knew that, but first he absolutely needed to recuperate. His Grace was burning up his final energy reserves and he simply cannot keep going right now.

Just as he was about to enter into meditation, he felt a presence approach him, and then the happiest voice Castiel had ever heard in his existence.

"Oh, who do we have here?"

Castiel opened his eyes to find a cherub joyfully staring down at him. That was all he got to register before he was picked up and hugged intensely.

"Does baby brother need a hug? Does he? Yes he does! Yes he does! Aren't you just the most precious thing in all of creation!" the cherub coddled, talking to him and rocking him around like some sort of human infant.

"Please put me down." Castiel managed to say as he was practically being crushed.

The cherub giggled. "Not until you get the biggest hug ever!" he declared.

So Castiel was subjected to 'the biggest hug ever,' and it was both one of the most comforting and one of the most horrible things he had experienced. He did not understand the sudden appearance of a rainbow above them though.

"Thank you." said Castiel once he was put back down, albeit he referred to being released… not the hug.

The cherub – Castiel wished he was taught on how to identify their names – lovingly kissed his head before letting him go entirely. "What's a sweet little fledgling like you doing here?" he inquired worriedly.

At that, Castiel stood up straighter. "I'm under my superior's orders. I am to make sure his lecture theater is ready." he answered as professionally as he could.

"All by yourself?" the cherub asked, shocked.

"Yes."

The cherub looked like he was about to go into a fit of tears at Castiel's misery, but then he brightened up almost instantly.

"We'd _love _to help you!" he merrily proclaimed.

Castiel tilted his head at one of the words "We?" he repeated.

"The rest of the cherubs are in the next room. We're having our annual hugging seminar!" the cherub announced, and he was jumping and spinning around in sheer enthusiasm.

Castiel was almost too afraid to allow him to clarify on that. "…Hugging seminar?"

"Yes! Hugs, cuddles, snuggles, nuzzles, embraces and even pats on the back if there's enough time!" he happily explained. "Anyone is welcome to join us! Heaven needs to rejoice in the power of love!" And for emphasis, he giddily kissed Castiel on both cheeks.

"Perhaps when I am not occupied with my duties," said Castiel as he walked over to Zachariah's nearly empty sacks as his work suddenly became ten times more appealing to him.

"Of course, of course. But if you ever need to be cheered up, or if you know someone who needs to be reminded that they are loved, you know where to find us." said the cherub.

"I appreciate the offer." said Castiel politely.

The cherub sighed and smiled fondly at him. "Come here!" Castiel had not even done anything yet and he was already being hugged again.

"I love you!" exclaimed the cherub.

"And… I, you." said Castiel rather uncertainly.

For a long time, the cherub just stood there, hugging him. Only when Castiel shifted on purpose did the cherub finally return him to the floor and go to the other lecture theater. Castiel chose to pretend the past few minutes never happened and went back to work.

Eventually, the corridors were starting to fill up with angels, and the strange part was that most of them were actually going to the cherubs' lecture theater. As the doors closed and opened to their room, Castiel caught the sounds of laughter and rejoicing inside, although he was unsure if the cherubs were the only ones who were celebrating. So much for Zachariah's big audience.

"Ah, Castiel. Is my room ready?" asked Zachariah, clapping him from behind.

Castiel was so startled at his superior's arrival that he was at a loss for words for a while. "Y-Yes – "

Apparently, that was all the reply Zachariah needed for him to stride over to the lecture theater. Unfortunately, he was heading for the cherubs' lecture theater, and now that Castiel considered it, both entrances appeared the same and anyone could mistake one for the other.

"Sir, you're going the wrong way." said Castiel.

Zachariah whipped around and scrutinized him with his lion-face. "Excuse me?" he said ominously.

"You're… going the wrong way… sir." said Castiel nervously.

"Castiel, I've been lecturing in this place for millennia, long before a cognitive thought entered your mind. So I think I know which chamber I'm supposed to be speaking in." snapped Zachariah. He turned toward the cherubs' room again and smiled conceitedly. "And that is obviously the one where I can hear a massive crowd murmuring in anticipation, hardly able to contain their excitement." he stated.

There was nothing more Castiel can do to change his mind once his goals were set. As Zachariah walked in, Castiel followed and waited anxiously at the doors. He heard the muffled sounds of a hundred cherubs applauding, Zachariah yelping, a lot of scuffling, silence, and then finally contented humming from the cherubs.

Castiel hesitantly pushed the door a sliver of the way in and was greeted by the sight of Zachariah, totally fuming, in the midst of a cherub group hug.

Zachariah caught Castiel's gaze and, if it were possible, his face became even sulkier. "Not a word to anyone." he muttered.

* * *

_Lion-face reference: 5x16_

_Thanks for sticking with this story for so long! Reviews are very much appreciated._

_…and Happy Valentines Day! Watch out for naked cupids XD_


	20. 2nd

AN: I was supposed to get this done before April came along, but then I was enjoying the free time I suddenly have when classes ended. Oops.

* * *

_An angel's smile is what you sell_

_You promised me heaven then put me through hell_

_._

_You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi_

* * *

Throughout his life, Castiel knew that the humans prayed to God, that they had faith in the same Being he lovingly called his Father. He liked to think that taking some of their prayers into account made him feel closer to the humans, and he grew ever fonder of them at their devotion and trust to the Creator. However, he did not realize just how many humans actually prayed, or just how bulky a single prayer can reach, until he had been assigned in the organizing section in the Library.

Stacks of prayers piled up all around him, and if Castiel was not careful, he could get lost in the semi-maze he had arranged. There were prayers from people begging to be healed from a sickness, from people wishing for a solution to their problems, from people wanting forgiveness and redemption, love, safety, more material things, restraint, peace, an epiphany…

And these were not merely the recent prayers. Zachariah ordered him to organize _every _prayer that had ever been conceived. The prayers of the past were simply to be converted into records to track the development of human thought and faith, to perhaps gain a more sensible pattern in order to understand humans better and, as Zachariah mentioned, to see more clearly which direction they were heading so the angels could have more control over them.

Basically, he had to categorize every prayer according to its type, its number of words, its exact date and place of origin, the age and sex of the person when it had been made, how much sincerity and respect the words contained and, with the recent prayers, its sense of urgency.

Castiel had tended to the newer ones first because the humans who had made them were most likely still alive and therefore were in greater need of help. Fresh prayers still had energy in them; they can float and fly to any angel who had the ability to answer them. Their speed would depend on the weight of the prayer: if it involved consoling extreme grief, for instance, the prayer would travel fast; if the prayer was simply a request for something like a new dog, it would travel at a more languid pace. Eventually, Castiel's pile of new prayers lessened, but did not vanish entirely since, every minute or so, there would always be another human getting on their knees and praying.

The old prayers were no longer as vibrant as when they had been new. Most of them were like ancient parchment now, stale and dull and cannot even float. It was almost sad to look at them, especially at the unanswered ones. Castiel knew that not every prayer should be answered, but the more he perused the stock, the more prayers he discovered had been simply ignored. Signs had been made to mark which prayers had been answered and which prayers were rejected to be answered; at least the rejection would mean that the prayer had been acknowledged. He had counted, so far, fifty prayers that did not get any sign at all.

Castiel wished he could, officially, answer prayers one day. He wanted to help.

As he was done with more than a quarter of his work, Zachariah burst into the room, ruining half of the work he had already finished.

"Castiel! I have an errand to give you!" he proclaimed. Zachariah looked around for him, but the stacks of prayers blocked Castiel from his view. "Where are you? You better not be slacking off." The more he searched, the more his wings knocked down a neatly arranged pile of prayers.

"I'm here, sir." Castiel timidly called out.

Zachariah whipped around to his left, making another pile fall over. "Ah, there you are. Have you always been this small?" he asked, squinting at him.

Since he was his superior, Castiel did his best to hide his embarrassment and wounded pride.

"Anyway, I have a new assignment for you." Zachariah went on. "You are to interrogate a man in the Greek Underworld, not to be confused with the Norse or Egyptian ones. Now, here is the profile of the man," He gave Castiel a rolled up scroll that had the man's picture and other necessary details. "Here are _several _maps of the Greek Underworld – because I can't have you getting lost and failing the task at hand – and here are some instructions in case you come across nasty locals, and here are the questions you need the man to answer to." said Zachariah, and as he was talking, he had been dumping a plethora of scrolls into Castiel's arms, and the more load Castiel received, the closer he was to toppling over.

"Am I to depart immediately, sir?" asked Castiel.

"Yes, and I want you back in no less than two days. Understood?" barked Zachariah.

Castiel, with difficulty, shifted his load into a more balanced angle. "Yes… but, what about – ?" He was supposed to inquire Zachariah if he was just going to leave his work in organizing prayers when someone interrupted him.

Amitiel, who apparently overheard their conversation, came gliding down from her cozy perch and landed in between them with far more finesse than Zachariah could ever dream of mustering. "You're not really sending this poor thing to the Underworld, are you?" she asked Zachariah, mortified.

"I am, and you have no authority over me to say otherwise." said Zachariah stubbornly.

"He's just a fledgling!" Amitiel defended.

"A fledgling who follows orders." said Zachariah, his tone growing more irritable and impatient by the second. He started dragging Castiel to the exit, as if to signify the end of the discussion, and Castiel helplessly stumbled along.

Though Amitiel did not do anything to halt them, she chased after them and said, "Fledglings are not supposed to be involved in the matters of the dead. That is the law in Heaven. If he should go, then he would need a guardian to accompany him."

Both Castiel and Zachariah stared at her, Castiel out of relief and Zachariah out of annoyance. "You can't be serious." said Zachariah.

"I am the angel of truth, Zachariah. I can tell no lie. And if you still allow the fledgling to go alone, I'd have no choice but to report you." said Amitiel seriously.

If there was anything that Zachariah feared, it was the higher authorities. The grimace he wore was so unpleasant that it was as if one of the archangels threatened to rip his wings off.

Finally, very reluctantly, Zachariah let his wings spread out entirely in preparation for the long flight ahead and glared at Amitiel. "Come, Castiel. Amitiel will take care of the prayers now." he snarled petulantly.

O_x

They flew until they reached the entrance to the Underworld; from there, they had to travel in other, less conspicuous means in order to not draw any unwanted attention on them. They were angels after all, and while it was not in their nature to be ashamed of who they were, dabbling with other religions was always a risky business for them. Disputes were constant and often ended with very undesirable results. For once, Castiel was thankful to be within Zachariah's close proximity.

With flight not being an option anymore, the only possible solution was to do it the old-fashioned way: they had to ride with Charon, the ferryman.

In Heaven, there were angels who, despite their beauty, frightened Castiel. Now, peering up at Charon, in spite of his hauntingly unkempt appearance, Castiel sensed that he was strangely more approachable compared to his other siblings.

"We need to get to – " Zachariah began.

"You're not dead." said Charon plainly. His voice sounded like the long, distant echoes of boulders that had fallen from a great height.

Zachariah made an offended face at being interrupted but composed himself. "Well, I hear you make exceptions." he said.

"To mortals. You two are not mortals." stated Charon impassively.

"Does it really matter?" snapped Zachariah. "Just take us to the Asphodel Meadows and back and then we'll leave you to your… exciting life." he said scathingly.

Charon narrowed his eyes at Zachariah, which were no more than empty sockets that glowed with the intensity of a furnace. "The Asphodel Meadows would require passage through the River Lethe. That is not a part of my usual route." he said.

"And we're not exactly your usual passengers, are we?" countered Zachariah impatiently.

As Zachariah and Charon glared at each other, sort of like a duel, Castiel could not help but feel nervous about where they were. It was not Hell, he knew that the Greek Underworld was different from Hell, yet there were still striking similarities: the place reeked of desolateness and of souls stagnating in niches. It was cold and full of whispers, whispers so old that the words cannot be made out anymore.

"I would need payment." said Charon, pulling Castiel out of his reverie.

"_Payment_? Angels shouldn't have to pay to anyone! I'll have to have a word with your boss concerning that." complained Zachariah.

Their argument continued, which basically consisted of Zachariah protesting about every little detail and boasting on about how angels were far more superior to be subjected to the same treatment as mortals, while Charon merely repeated the rules in a calm manner. They were wasting time, Castiel surmised. If everyone would just cooperate, they would be getting their task done much sooner.

Charon said that he required payment. Castiel tried to recall every bit of knowledge he possessed on Greek culture and realized that they would need a specific type of coin, although Castiel could not remember enough of its details for him to conjure one. He looked around but there was not a coin in sight either. Finally, as an act of desperation and since his powers were still too limited to create anything extraordinary out of thin air, he invoked a couple of daisies and violets to spring from the ground.

Zachariah and Charon eyed him questioningly.

"Castiel, this is no time to be fooling around." bellowed Zachariah.

"Would these do… as payment?" Castiel shyly asked Charon.

"You think _flowers _can be considered as payment? Of all the idiotic things that went into that head of yours – "

Charon silenced Zachariah with a wave of his long oar, and knelt down to inspect the flowers. "Daisies… for innocence. And violets… for humility." he murmured, caressing each petal in the same way a parent would stroke the head of a newborn. Charon stared at Castiel for what felt like an eternity, and as Castiel stared back he saw that the fire in the ferryman's eyes had softened to an almost tender glow, and the light reminded Castiel of a sunrise.

"I will accept these flowers as payment." said Charon.

"You will?" exclaimed Zachariah and Castiel at the same time, the former more out of skepticism and the latter out of delight.

Charon straightened up. "It's been a long time since anything pure and beautiful graced these caverns. And I haven't had the chance to go outside for a while now." he said as he clambered onto his boat.

"You can't be serious about the flowers," whined Zachariah.

"If you reject them, then you will have no payment, and I will not take you to the Asphodel Meadows." said Charon darkly.

Zachariah appeared to be on the verge of another argument, but thought better of it and sulkily got into the boat as well. Castiel followed and sat in the middle of Charon and his superior; once everyone was settled, the little boat set off.

The water was the color of smoke, and for a moment, Castiel nearly believed they were not traveling on a river at all but floating on thick, dirty mist, except the oar kept making a quiet splashing noise whenever it came down. Castiel dared to peer slightly over the edge to see if there were any fish in the river, but even with his enhanced sight, the water remained cloudy to him. He wondered if the river even had a bottom.

They continued to drift in silence, and as they progress further inward, the whispers became slightly louder, though not to the point of being understood. Shadows were also more prominent in the area, stretching to immeasurable lengths and appearing to reach out to anything for purchase, as if latching onto a solid surface would prevent them from slipping away.

"Sir? How come there are several Underworlds? Why can't all the souls just go to Heaven or Hell to make things easier for everybody?" Castiel asked Zachariah as quietly as he could, albeit his voice echoed anyway. He meant no offense when he posed his inquiry. It was just that, after studying a multitude of cultures, entire systems seemed so complex that it was a miracle a soul even had the chance to experience some semblance of an afterlife. There were so many factors to consider, so many rules to follow, so many beliefs to uphold; would it not be simpler if there were less versions of life after death?

Zachariah scowled at him. "Issues like that will be explained thoroughly to you once we return." he said contemptibly, and the way he uttered 'thoroughly' meant that he would not be nice in his clarifications. "For now, don't ask stupid questions."

Shame permeated Castiel's Grace and his wings wilted to the floor of the boat. "My apologies." he murmured.

The rest of their journey was filled with an uneasy hush. Their boat was changing directions more and more frequently now, as if the landscape evolved in its intricateness the deeper they went in. After a while, they ventured into a humongous cave that extended to nearly five miles. Its walls were coated in a sort of phosphorescent paint, albeit the light it emitted was so dim, or the surrounding darkness was so formidable, that it was like they were in the depths of oblivion.

Castiel examined the water, or tried to, but discovered that it was impossible to tell where the cave wall ended and the river began, even with his heightened senses. This alarmed him.

And then he felt… weird. His eyes wanted to close, and his entire form felt tired all of a sudden. He did not realize that his grip on consciousness was slipping until he hit the side of the boat in a slow collapse. Castiel forced himself to be more attentive, prying his eyes wide open and holding himself in a rigid posture. However, his attempts were in vain as, a minute later, the same strange lethargy plagued his Grace again and he found himself unintentionally hitting the side of the boat once more.

"What's wrong with him?" snapped Zachariah. He sounded distant to Castiel's hearing, as if he was on the other end of the cave. Regardless, Castiel was certain that his superior was giving him a very disapproving look.

"We are passing through Hypnos' lair." replied Charon, and Castiel almost could not hear him at how exhausted he surprisingly felt. Was Hypnos' lair the whole cave then?

"And Hypnos is…?" Zachariah pressed on irately.

"The god of sleep." said Charon. "While the little one is not mortal, he is still somewhat affected by the god's radiating power."

Without even glancing, Castiel knew Zachariah's glare at him intensified. "Just so you know, Castiel, this is unacceptable behavior as an angel _and _a soldier." he said.

Castiel wanted to apologize for his weakness, but even the simple task of forming words eluded him in his present condition. He felt himself sway a bit.

"Stay in the middle. Lie down if you must. Just don't fall into the water." Charon coolly told him.

This time, Castiel struggled to get the words out of his mouth. "What happens if I fall in?" he asked.

Charon said nothing and merely stared ahead at the end of the cave.

It was not long before they exited Hypnos' cave and the weariness left Castiel as quickly as a chill vanishing under direct sunlight. To ensure that the languid effects had truly left him, Castiel sat up a tad straighter than what was necessary and flexed his wings, and to his relief, he could sense energy returning to him and circulating throughout his Grace. His movements were not slow and uncoordinated anymore, and his thoughts were no longer muddled.

In fact, his thoughts were coming back more sharply and much quicker than he expected, and the force was like an attack. For the most part, his memories of organizing tons of prayers assaulted him; every word brought an increasing amount of pain and every other little detail hacked away at his mental defenses.

"Something the matter, little one?" asked Charon.

Castiel wondered if he had done anything that may have alerted the others of his inner distress, but he could not be sure about anything as the pain in his head magnified bit by bit. He spared a glance at Zachariah and noted that he was displeased with him once again.

"I'm fine." said Castiel, remembering Zachariah's lessons that he should _always_ deny the deterioration of his health.

Unfortunately, Charon did not believe him. "Do you have a headache?" he asked.

The pain was escalating to the point that even performing a head-tilt was impossible. "A headache?" repeated Castiel wearily.

"It's when you think about something too hard, or if you think about a lot of things for too long, your mind gets tired and it hurts." explained Charon. "People usually experience a headache after going through Hypnos' cave. It's like when the sluggishness wears off, their thoughts come back too quickly and it tends to be overwhelming." He took an old, worn chalice from underneath his robe, used it to scoop water from the river and then presented it to Castiel. "Here, take a sip."

Castiel regarded the large chalice warily. "What will it do to me?" he inquired.

"Drinking from the River Lethe will make someone forget. The dead here have to drink until all their memories are gone, to prepare them for the next life as purified souls." said Charon. "But for you, just a sip, just enough to get rid of your headache." he added when he saw Castiel's horrified expression.

As he continued to stare at the chalice, Castiel attempted to think about the situation as clearly as he could. Yes, the 'headache,' as Charon termed it, really, really hurt and he wanted it to stop hurting; but then, if he drank the water, he would forget all the prayers he had read, forget the innermost desires of humanity. Castiel realized he did not want that.

"No, thank you. I don't want to forget." he said to Charon.

Charon appeared rather surprised, albeit the look was more along the lines of satisfaction than disappointment. Meanwhile, Zachariah had other thoughts.

"Well I, for one, have a lot of things I wish to forget. So give me that," he said, wrenching the chalice from Charon's hands. Zachariah dipped it into the river and pulled it back up with the water practically overflowing at the surface.

"That's too much!" Charon cried out.

"I'm an angel. I'm certain I can handle this meager amount and control the flow of forgetfulness." said Zachariah confidently. And with that, he took a mighty swig from the chalice.

"Zeus help us." Castiel heard Charon mutter beside him.

The moment, presumably, when Zachariah had gulped down every drop of water, his eyes widened and the chalice tumbled out of his grasp. Something had happened, something wrong, Castiel was sure of it, and his assumptions were only proven right as an eerily blank expression manifested on his superior's face.

"Sir?" ventured Castiel. "Are you well?" he asked.

For a while, Zachariah showed no signs of responding. Then, he blinked and his eyes slowly found Castiel. "Yes. Of course. I'm sorry if I scared you." he said, and the common exasperation and arrogance that lined his voice had been replaced with an uncharacteristically lighter tone.

Castiel and Charon ogled at him in disbelief.

"What an odd place. Are you traveling here for leisure?" Zachariah inquired, looking around the Underworld as if it was not the frightening and dangerous site that it was. It would seem that Zachariah had underestimated the effects of the Lethe River.

"The Asphodel Meadows, your destination." said Charon, indicating the stretch of land that was suddenly five feet in front of them. It was obvious that he changed the subject on purpose.

Before anything else could happen, Charon was ushering the angels out of the boat and onto solid ground. The fact that Zachariah merely went along with the brusque gesture, without so much as a single complaint or a fowl glance, disturbed Castiel for some reason. As Castiel recovered from his stagger, he saw that Charon was rowing off.

"Wait! How do I fix him?" he yelled, pointing at Zachariah who was currently sitting stupidly on the grass.

"Fix him? Shouldn't this be an improvement?" said Charon.

As much as Castiel liked to have a more 'docile' superior, he knew that cannot be the case. "He's very important in Heaven. If it's to run efficiently, he is needed… in his proper mind." he said.

Charon seemed to pity him, but just slightly and only for an instant. "I'm sorry. I cannot do anything for him. Good luck with your task." he said, his words polite and sympathetic enough to not sound like he was mocking them. Barely a few seconds passed and the ferryman was gone.

"He is such a nice man. Have you two been friends for long?" asked Zachariah amiably.

This was not good, not good at all.

O_x

A part of Castiel wished that Amitiel had never informed them that he needed a guardian for him to be able to go to the Underworld. Though, another part of him was somewhat thankful to have company in such a strange, scary place.

Right now, with his headache mostly gone, he was trying his hardest to get things under control so the task they came here to fulfill could still be carried out. Since Zachariah had, grudgingly, agreed to come with him earlier, Castiel thought he would not need the maps and instructions anymore so he left them behind in the Library. He regretted that course of action as he frantically scanned the shores of the Asphodel Meadows.

He had no idea what to do. The information he required was either back in Heaven or with his superior's knowledge, both of which he cannot access at the moment. All Castiel had with him were the questions they were meant to ask the man they were searching, in case Zachariah would want to check if they had tackled everything. That, and he partially remembered what the man's face looked like, and he hoped to the Father that that would be enough to get them through this.

Castiel gathered what resolve he had and faced Zachariah. "We should be on our way." he stated. His voice wavered a little as he was not used to even suggesting anything to his superior.

At that, Zachariah stood up from where he had been crouched down, watching a pebble float in a puddle. "We should. I hope I haven't been keeping you waiting." he said.

It was ridiculous, but Castiel was even more afraid of Zachariah in this current state. The Underworld was a risky place and Castiel could barely take care of himself here, let alone another being. He did not know just how much Zachariah had forgotten and, frankly, he had no intention of finding out. Nonetheless, he was under orders, and to leave now would mean that he had failed in his mission and had disobeyed. Zachariah – the old one – would not like that.

So they set off, guided by Castiel's halfhearted instincts. The Asphodel Meadows would essentially mean that there would be a considerable amount of asphodels, yet Castiel could not see any so far. There was just a field of the dullest grass he had ever encountered, and the feeling of emptiness it possessed was so tremendous that Castiel wondered if the land was even inhabited at all.

If he were to fly to gain a better vantage point, he would be betraying their position to the malevolent forces in the Underworld. So they had to make do with walking. After some time, Castiel looked behind him to check on Zachariah, and when he did, he was shocked to find him fiddling so carelessly with his blade, in a way similar to how a human toddler would twiddle with a contraption they had never seen before.

"Sir, please put your blade down." said Castiel anxiously.

Zachariah glanced up at him and stopped playing with his blade. "Alright." he said. He casually dropped his blade to the grass and stood on the spot appearing to be proud of his achievement.

At first, Castiel was reluctant to grasp the blade. He was still a fledgling, and fledglings were not allowed to so much as touch a real heavenly weapon; in addition, this belonged to his superior, and to taint it with his Grace would be an insult. Although, given the circumstances, he had no choice; the blade will be more of use in his hands.

"I… I think I should hold onto your blade for now, sir." said Castiel nervously.

"By all means." replied Zachariah.

Castiel would never get used to him like this. Slowly, he picked up the blade and continued their journey, although he made sure to have Zachariah stay close to him.

"Anything I can do to help you out?" asked Zachariah genially.

It took a great deal of effort for Castiel to repress the sheer awkwardness he felt. "That won't be necessary." he replied.

They kept walking in silence.

"Do you know what my favorite color is?" Zachariah asked all of a sudden.

Castiel did not know how to answer that, or if he should even dignify that with an answer. "…I beg your pardon?" he said.

"I can't remember my favorite color, or if I even have one. What do you think?" said Zachariah.

His superior was actually asking for his opinion? It may be for a completely pointless query, and Zachariah was indeed not his usual self, but Castiel nevertheless felt a little… honored, if not disturbed beyond reason also. "Uhm… red?" he tried.

Zachariah thought about it. "Too strong." he said.

"Blue?" offered Castiel.

"Not really, no." said Zachariah after a moment.

More colors were voiced out, each being rejected after much careful deliberation. Finally, Castiel arrived at the color he hoped he would not have to suggest because, as naïve as he was, even_ he _knew that it held demeaning qualities. "…Pink?"

Oddly, Zachariah seemed to think about this more carefully than the previous ones. "Not too bright, not too dark, and it is very appealing to the eyes… Pink it is then!" he declared triumphantly. "Now, what about my favorite amphibian?"

Thankfully, Castiel was saved the trouble of entertaining Zachariah's silliness further when a village appeared a short distance away. As they made their way toward it, Castiel could make out a bunch of asphodels blooming nearby, though they were not as lovely as he had pictured them to be since they seemed even sicklier than the grass. Also, it occurred to him that the ground they were stepping on resembled ash more than soil, and that put him on edge.

When they arrived at the village, the first thing Castiel registered was the way the people behaved: it was… off. They were content in this place but that was all the emotion he felt from them. In Heaven, the souls were still capable of and freely expressed the emotions they had when alive; here, it was like virtually all the emotions had been removed and the souls operate at a sort of mechanical pace. It was as if more than half of their humanity had faded away.

Castiel gripped the scroll that had the questions and Zachariah's blade with apprehension as he prepared himself to go forward. "Please stay here, sir." he said over his shoulder.

"My pleasure." said Zachariah, giving him a friendly wave. There was a broken fence next to him, and he started skipping around it for some reason. Castiel would never get that image out of his mind.

He scoured the village for the man that even remotely looked like the one he could barely recall, but it was either that the man was not here or he simply could not remember more details and he might have already passed him by. The souls did not seem to notice him, or at least chose to ignore him, while they went on with chores and the like. The village itself was a dreary place, almost as bad as the slums in Greece. And there was this feeling of something coming – like when the sky was full of clouds and people did not know if it was going to rain, strong winds would come or the sun would come shining back at any minute – but that something, whatever it was, never arrived, or never will.

After searching the entire village, Castiel could not locate the man they were looking for, albeit he did see that there were other adjoining villages in the distance. Maybe the man was somewhere there. He returned to the place he left Zachariah at.

"I think we should move inward – sir?" Castiel stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Zachariah was gone. "Sir?" he tried again, louder. No one replied.

Castiel let his Grace briefly expand over the village to scan for his superior but failed to sense his presence. He began to panic, and as he did so, he went around physically looking for Zachariah in case his powers had become faulty, despite knowing perfectly well they were not. He peered into the windows of the houses, checked the barrels at the sides and in corners, weaved his way through the crowd, ventured into the outskirts of the village where the grass was long and the asphodels were clustered thickly together….

In his haste, Castiel bumped into a woman and fell down.

"Hey! Watch it!" the woman exclaimed. She was not as colorless as the other people; in fact, she seemed brighter, brighter than anything Castiel had ever seen in the Underworld, and a vibrant green glow tinged her skin. He caught a whiff of lilacs, strawberries and pumpkin from her aura, and would have been amazed by that if he were not in a state of alarm.

"I'm sorry." said Castiel shakily. He got up and was about to keep searching when the woman's hand restrained him.

"Whoah, whoah. What's the rush? What's an _angel_ doing here?" she asked, squinting at him as if she would be able to figure everything out just by staring at him in a different perspective.

Castiel was hesitant to say anything; she might be one of the things he should stay away from, after all. When he glanced down, he noted how strong her grip was on him, which contradicted the daintiness of her fingers. However, upon gazing up at her, he saw that her eyes were kind, understanding, like that of a beast taking care of her young. Castiel decided to tell her everything.

"Hm, quite a problem you got there." she commented once he was done. She knelt down to be on the same level as him, grinning as she did so. "Tell you what, I'll help you. I know every soul in the Underworld, not to mention every inch of this sinkhole. We'll find the guy you came here to in the first place, then we'll look for this Zach guy." she said.

"Thank you." said Castiel gratefully. He remembered Charon and the fact that he wanted compensation for his assistance, and became flustered. "Am I to pay you for your services? Because I don't have much – "

The woman held up a hand to him. "No payment. I'm just glad to spend time with someone who isn't dead for once." she chortled. "I'm Persephone, by the way." she added as she stood up.

"Castiel." replied Castiel.

"Funny name. But cute." she remarked, smirking. "Let's go. Oh, and don't eat any pomegranates if someone offers a free sample. They're bad for you." she said.

Castiel wondered why he would ever consume anything in the Underworld, or anywhere else for that matter. Nevertheless, he followed Persephone through the field of asphodels.

TBC

* * *

_Writing this would be so much easier if Zachariah was actually _nice_. I never knew how annoying it was to write him. Just one more chapter of him to go…_

_Thanks again to all the people reading the story!_


	21. 3rd

AN: FINALLY! LAST CHAPTER FOR ZACHARIAH!

* * *

_Now you'll never see__  
What you've done to me  
You can take back your memories  
They're no good to me  
And here's all your lies  
You can look me in the eyes  
With the sad, sad look  
That you wear so well_

_._

_All-American Rejects – Gives You Hell_

* * *

It had taken a while, but Castiel and Persephone managed to locate the soul Castiel had been sent down to find. As it turned out, the information Zachariah wanted was about a clarification on a chant of a certain spell, since the soul had been a soothsayer back when he still needed to breathe. Drinking from the River Lethe had made him forget about almost everything, but his mind still had some semblance of clarity for the occult, which was a relief.

With that task out of the way, Castiel and Persephone had to look for Zachariah next. They traveled deeper into the Underworld, avoiding the rivers and the banks as much as possible, although what for, Persephone did not say. Soon, the two of them started talking, to fend off the pervading loneliness that seemed to be present everywhere. It later led to Castiel, inadvertently, venting out his frustrations, because there was finally someone who could listen to his grief and not chastise him about punishment or duty.

"…and this one time he ordered me to fly into the bottom of a volcano to collect fresh lava – " he dejectedly went on.

"Can angels your age handle that stuff?" asked Persephone, genuinely worried.

"I eventually discovered that that was not the case." replied Castiel.

"What happened?"

There was a timid pause. "…I couldn't fly for two Earth months." said Castiel.

Persephone clucked her tongue in concern. "You darling li'l sugarplum," she cooed. Then her tone quickly changed from compassionate to vexed. "Why do you put up with the guy?" she demanded.

"He's my superior." answered Castiel simply, automatically.

"That's it? If your dad told you to eat a barrel of armadillos, would you do it?" Persephone inquired.

"Uhm,"

"Well?"

Castiel's wings twitched in unease. "…I mustn't disobey my Father – " he began.

"So you're saying you'd _want_ to eat armadillos?" said Persephone.

"No! I like armadillos!" squealed Castiel. It was a weak response, but judging by the grim softening of Persephone's eyes, she knew that she had made her point.

"You're not his servant, you know." she said as they turned a corner. "Aren't you guys supposed to be righteous?" she asked with a sigh.

For a moment, Castiel questioned the definition of the word. "Zachariah believes he is righteous in his own mind." he stated.

Persephone made an annoyed huff at the back of her throat, yet otherwise said nothing as they continued walking. "Remind me again why we're even finding him?" she grumbled.

Aside from the fact that it was the right thing to do, Castiel honestly did not know.

After hours of wandering in the Underworld, the two of them came across a craggy landscape, populated by miles of stalactites, stalagmites and small murky puddles that had rippling surfaces despite the fact that the ground under their feet was completely motionless. Creatures that resembled spiders lurked in the fissures of the rocks, except they were not spiders at all, because they had wings like bats and tongues like frogs.

As Castiel's gaze followed one of the creatures' tongue catching a speck of glittering dust in the air, he saw him. "There!" he declared, pointing at the stalactites.

Zachariah was hanging upside-down, like a monkey who had forgotten how to right himself but discovered that it was actually more entertaining in this new position. His six wings gripped at the stalactites in the same manner as limbs would grab onto whatever branches were within reach. He was also swinging to and fro and humming a llama mating call.

"Sir, please get down!" Castiel called out.

Zachariah swiveled his head at him and grinned. "Find me a pink newt first!" he giggled.

At that, Castiel began to take flight, albeit was stopped by Persephone. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to find a pink newt." replied Castiel.

"You can't be serious," she said.

"I have to obey my superior." said Castiel.

Persephone shook her head as she placed him back on the ground. "Stay put, I'll get him down." she muttered.

She stretched out her hands and dried vines and old tree roots instantly burst out of the earth and the ceiling. They twisted their way toward Zachariah and proceeded to yank him from the stalactites like he was nothing more than an annoying imperfection to the landscape. And with any imperfection, the removal was not exactly the most careful process as Zachariah was merely pulled and let to fall on the ground like a rock. Castiel went to see if he was alright.

"Castiel! Any luck on locating a pink newt?" piped up Zachariah, as if falling from a hundred feet was nothing to him… which it was.

"I'm… still on it, sir." lied Castiel, fidgetting as he did so. He saw Persephone throw him a look. "Uh, perhaps there's a better chance of finding one at the Mnemosyne. You can… help me search for it, sir." he said. Persephone said that the River Mnemosyne would reverse the effects of the River Lethe, or at least that was what the rumor was since no one had ever really tried it before.

Zachariah sprang up and jumped around. "I'd love to!" he joyfully cried out.

At the corner of Castiel's vision, he noticed Persephone roll her eyes before she set off to lead the way. For the first ten minutes of their journey, the three of them walked on in silence.

"Do _you _have a favorite amphibian?" Zachariah cheekily asked all of a sudden, startling Castiel.

"Not really, sir." replied Castiel.

"Well, _I _have a favorite amphibian. Guess what it is!" said Zachariah.

"A… newt, sir?" ventured Castiel.

"Don't be ridiculous! My favorite is the barnacle!" proclaimed Zachariah.

Both Castiel and Persephone stopped walking and stared at him blankly, and a little fearfully.

"It can stick to whales! Can _newts _stick to whales? I don't think so!" explained Zachariah.

Persephone nudged Castiel's side. "Hey, it's either a barnacle-loving nutcase or a bossy, overbearing nutcase." she whispered, smirking. Somehow, Castiel still did not know what version was more terrifying.

It was not long before the River Mnemosyne was visible a short distance away, and the sheer relief Castiel felt that their time here was almost over was immeasureable. However, if the river's properties were genuine, he was not particularly looking forward to his superior after he had drunk from the water.

"We're here." announced Persephone as the soil became softer with damp. At the sight of the placid waves, Zachariah took off and began splashing around in the shore.

"You sure 'bout this, sugarplum?" asked Persephone as they watched Zachariah roll and spin in the water.

Castiel regarded her words. "Regrettably." he said.

Persephone looked like she pitied him but went to the river anyway. She got a rock by her feet and morphed it into a cup, which she used to fill up with water. "Alright, big boy, bottoms up. If you're going to see any newts or whatever, you gotta drink this whole cup." she told Zachariah.

"Does it taste like indigo?" asked Zachariah.

"Sure." said Persephone, shrugging.

Thrilled, Zachariah instantly took the offered cup and gulped down its contents. Castiel was unable to prevent himself from backing away a couple of steps. As the asinine mirth vanished from Zachariah's features, to be replaced by sternness and hostility, Castiel knew that he had gotten his superior back.

"Castiel, I demand an explanation." barked Zachariah, absentmindedly throwing the cup to the river. "How did we get here, where's Charon and his boat and why, in God's name, am I doing next to this miry heathen?" he shouted, pointing at Persephone.

"You're welcome, by the way." sighed Persephone as she crossed her arms.

"What are you talking about?" hissed Zachariah. Persephone opened her mouth but was interrupted. "You know what, I don't want to hear anything from you. Castiel! Tell me what's going on, that's an order!" he yelled.

The squeak that came out of Castiel was unintentional. What should he say? Should he reveal everything? What would Zachariah do to him once he found out how he behaved after drinking from the River Lethe? Can he afford to omit some details? Would Zachariah see past his feeble attempts at lying?

"Before you interrogate him, I'd like to say that your mission's been accomplished." cut in Persephone, giving the papers with the clarified chant. "That's all you came here to do, right? The sooner you fly outta here, the better?" she asked, and Castiel realized that she was diverting Zachariah's attention, so that he did not have to answer.

Zachariah snatched the papers from her and scanned the content. Satisfied, he glared at her and spread his wings in preparation of flight. "I better not catch you frolicking up on Earth any time soon." he warned.

"Not a problem. I still got four months in this ditch." replied Persephone in a casual voice.

The two of them glowered at each other for an agonizingly long while. "Castiel, we're leaving." said Zachariah. He took off and flew ahead, totally ignoring the concept of stealth. By now, the creatures of the Underworld were aware of the presence of angels; then again, they might have already been aware of their presence during Zachariah's… period of forgetfulness.

If Castiel had been human, he would have let go of the breath he did not know he was holding. He was saved from revealing the ugly truth to Zachariah. "Thank you." he said to Persephone.

"Don't thank me yet. I put a little something in his drink." said Persephone, winking.

Castiel tilted his head. "I don't understand." he replied.

A giggle wafted out of Persephone's mouth. "Let's just say that whenever he pushes you around again, he'll have consequences." she said playfully.

"I don't want him to get hurt." said Castiel.

Persephone smiled fondly at him and placed her hand on his head; Castiel briefly wondered if this was what having a mother was like. "I wish more deities were a sweet sugarplum like you." she said affectionately. "Anyway, I promise he won't get hurt. It's just to teach him a lesson in arrogance." she added.

The stroking motions of Persephone's fingers were so soothing that Castiel nearly did not want to go. "What did you mean when you still had four months? Are you a prisoner here?" he asked when he recalled what she mentioned earlier.

Persephone's fingers stopped moving and a broken expression entered her eyes. "You best get going. I'm already getting used to calling you 'sugarplum'." she said.

Had he insulted her? Did he do something wrong? Castiel was about to apologize when he sensed Zachariah looking for him. Powerless to disobey, Castiel departed the Underworld and left Persephone with her bittersweet smile.

O_x

Things went back to normal almost immediately when they returned to Heaven. Once Castiel finished his task of organizing the prayers, he found himself in Zachariah's office sorting paperwork and cleaning the vicinity… simultaneously.

"When is my next seminar going to be?" Zachariah asked, sitting back comfortably.

Castiel clumsily pulled out a scroll from the haphazardly messy bundle in his arms. "During the eighth waxing moon on Earth." he recited with much difficulty.

"Can't it be on the seventh?" said Zachariah.

"Someone has already reserved that slot, sir." answered Castiel as he arranged the books on a shelf according to color and wavelength.

"So kick them out of it." Zachariah retorted.

The harshness of his superior's tone was enough to make Castiel falter and drop a piece of parchment. "It's already been finalized, sir. And the eighth was the closest vacancy I could acquire – "

"So you screwed up then." interrupted Zachariah, rising from his seat in the most menacing way. "You were too slow and because of that you screwed up." he said.

Castiel shrank back until his wings brushed against the shelves. "I'm sorry, sir." he said quietly.

The possibility of avoiding further conflict was thrown away as Zachariah advanced on him. "You don't understand, do you? I've been having the seventh slot of every occasion for the past five centuries. A perfect record. And now you screwed up." he growled, his lion-face showing at the edge.

"I'm sorry." mewled Castiel. He prepared for the worst: a slash to the wings, a blast of energy more painful than lightning, a strike that would send him halfway across Heaven…

Instead, an even more unbearable punishment was placed on him. "Just for that, I am not permitting you to join the other fledglings in their trip to God's throne-room." said Zachariah.

Castiel could not believe it. He had been waiting for that opportunity ever since he had comprehended the meaning of Father. They were to be the first batch of fledglings – the first batch of _angels_ (aside from the archangels) – to enter the throne-room. It was to be a 'fieldtrip,' one of the biggest enlightenments and privileges their kind could ever attain. Of course, God was not guaranteed to be there, but to bask in the residue of His holiness would be absolutely glorious.

"But sir, all the fledglings are required to attend." Castiel anxiously pointed out.

Zachariah leaned in closer to him until their faces were a hairsbreadth away. "All but one." he said lowly, eliciting a tremble out of Castiel.

Turning, Zachariah went back to his desk with a pleased air of superiority around him. When Castiel had summoned enough dignity to look up, he saw a vivid pink flower come out of the base of Zachariah's lower left wing, seeming as if it had been waiting to bloom all this time.

Castiel chose not to say anything about it and focused on his cleaning.

O_x

Whenever he was lucky enough to obtain free time, Castiel would sometimes work on a little project, namely the construction of an enormous mobile. It was to depict the map of the first ant colony he had ever seen during his earlier trips to the Earth.

He used balled up bits of the Aurora Borealis to mark the entrances and emergency exits of the anthill. For the tunnels, there were long, winding trails of petals and eggshells from every flower and bird that ever existed; they were crystallized in order to be preserved for all eternity, and each tunnel had its own unique pattern of flowers and eggs, so it often took time to complete an entire tunnel. Dots of starlight melded with chunks of boiling ice were the components to mark the ants themselves, busy performing their jobs for the colony. Strands of green, blue and violet from rainbows acted as the strings to keep everything suspended, while a puff of cumulus was used as the ceiling.

It was far from being finished, but there was no point in hurrying; he enjoyed taking it slow. Castiel was so engrossed in his work that he failed to sense Zachariah approaching.

"You made this?" he asked.

There was a moment of panic in Castiel's Grace before he quelled it and wore a modest expression. "Yes, sir." he said.

"How long did it take?" continued Zachariah, nearing his unfinished work.

"Three decades and two days." Castiel answered.

Zachariah poked one of the ants and it quivered dangerously at the proximity of his power. "And you did this without any help?" he pressed on.

"I did, sir." replied Castiel.

Seconds passed with Zachariah just staring at the mobile, and Castiel prayed to his Father that he would get the approval of his superior regarding his handiwork.

"It looks horrendous." said Zachariah. He turned the other direction and swiftly flew off, sending a hazardously powerful gust of air that caused a great number of strings to become entangled with each other. "Blow it up." he added.

As Castiel, miserably, untangled the strings, he caught a glimpse of Zachariah just before he disappeared from view. A couple of more pink flowers had sprouted under his wings.

O_x

"Ah, Castiel. I was looking for you." said Zachariah the moment Castiel entered his office.

"Is there something I can do?" Castiel asked.

"Come here. Stand behind me." ordered Zachariah.

Castiel did so; Zachariah was sitting down so Castiel took comfort in the fact that he would not be close to his superior at full height. Regardless, the power was there in his six semi-folded wings and it tremendously intimidated him.

"Now, check my feathers." said Zachariah.

"I-I beg your pardon?" stammered Castiel.

"I want you to check and count my feathers. I recently flew into an errant westward breeze and I believe a feather or two may have been ruffled, or worse, pulled out. I need you to find the site of damage." said Zachariah.

"Very well." replied Castiel, because what else could he respond to his superior with?

He knelt down and started with the base wings, and the pink flowers he had seen previously were still there, and they appeared to have multiplied. After much debate, Castiel dared not to say a word of this to Zachariah, because if he did so, Zachariah would lash out at the nearest living target, and in this situation, that was Castiel.

However, as Castiel went through Zachariah's wings, he discovered that the pink flowers were more numerous than he thought. Underneath multiple layers of feathers, where adequate concealment was available, dozens of pink flowers had grown like they would in a garden. Curious, Castiel poked one of the flowers to see if he would get a reaction from Zachariah; there was none. When he gave a flower a gentle tug, he learned that it was tucked in safely, in the same way an ordinary flower planted in soil would behave.

"Oh, and don't let your feathers stick to mine. I still question the decency of your wings." commented Zachariah.

Castiel swallowed the bitter pain of that offhanded insult and merely continued his task. An angel's wings were the most treasured part of their being, often more valuable than their Grace, because their wings symbolized what they were in creation, what they were capable of as instruments of God, what they stood for as divine warriors and keepers of the secrets of the universe.

Castiel wings were ruffled, as messy as a baby bird's who was still adjusting to the gust of winds and the twirl of tornadoes. They had been like this for as long as he could remember, and while he had long ago already accepted that he might never get wings as smooth or as formidable as the others', his Grace still recoiled in hurt and shame at Zachariah's words.

As he went through Zachariah's feathers, his eyes widened as more pink flowers emerged. And virtually in an instant, Castiel had an idea of what, or who, might be the cause of this.

"_I put a little something in his drink."_

He refused to say anything about the flowers, or his suspicions.

O_x

This time, Castiel was summoned to Zachariah's chambers. "You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Castiel as he slowly, cautiously, went inside.

Zachariah was off to the far southeastern corner of the room, fetching something from one of his shelves. "Yes, and I want you to answer any questions I have for you truthfully. Understood?" he barked.

Had he learned about the flowers? Castiel forced himself to stand his ground. "Yes, sir." he replied.

"Good." Zachariah zoomed toward Castiel and landed three feet in front of him. While he had been at a distance, Castiel would have said there was nohing (too) unusual with Zachariah's form. However, at this proximity, Castiel found himself in shock and he was left to wonder why he had not notice the differences before.

More pink flowers had bloomed, and not just on his wings. There were flowers on the back of his legs, the innermost crooks of his neck, on the top of his head where none of his four faces could see, at the gaps between his wings; basically all the spots that would be hard to notice on a typical day. He was on the verge of resembling a half-formed bush of flowers

"Is there something different with me?" demanded Zachariah.

Castiel hoped he was not caught staring, that Zachariah was simply asking for the sake of the knowing. "What do you mean?" inquired Castiel in the most innocent tone he could muster.

"Some of the angels have been looking at me… peculiarly. When I demand to know their reasons, they avoid me." said Zachariah. Castiel did his hardest to suppress a chuckle. "Is there something I'm missing? Are they mocking the new weather pattern I'm proposing?" he went on.

"I doubt it's about the weather, sir." said Castiel. Albeit he prayed that 'fiery-hailstorm-hurricanes' would not push through.

"Then _what_?" snarled Zachariah.

Castiel could not believe that Zachariah had remained oblivious for this long, but he was by no means complaining. "Perhaps it's your new policy on weapons maintenance." said Castiel instead, and technically, it was not a real lie, more of a suggestion, a likelihood. And besides, the problem might even actually _be _the weapons maintenance.

"You think so?" Zachariah asked.

"It's possible." admitted Castiel.

Zachariah considered this for a while. "Well, they'll just have to suck it up. They either follow my rules or they flap around like the defenseless idiots that they are." he said. Two new flowers popped out of his head. He was about to leave when a thought seemed to occur to him. "That reminds me… we're having lessons again later: the enlightenment of obedience." he said.

By that, he meant torture, or the closest thing possible in the standards of Heaven. The idea was to instill traits and morals such as discipline, humility, resilience and loyalty through pain. The process, as Zachariah had desccribed, was similar to the purification of a diamond: the precious stone must undergo immense pressure and much cutting and pummeling in order to achieve its perfect shine. The finished product should be clear, be void of any impurities and can withstand great force without cracking; a predictable, blameless and resolute outcome.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Castiel a tad fearfully.

"I just thought you'd serve as an example to those who object my decisions." said Zachariah, smiling cruelly. "Is there a problem?"

Castiel bowed his head in submission. "No, sir." he said quietly.

"Good. In the meantime, get my armor and weapons ready; put them in our 'classroom'." said Zachariah.

He had never once really used his armor and weapons; he just kept them for display, to terrorize the rest of the angels by showing them just how ferocious his weapons were, that he was definitely someone who was not to be messed with. Sometimes, Zachariah would bring them to their 'classroom' so that the splatter of Castiel's Grace would hit them as he was being 'enlightened'. In terms of Earth, a polished shield and sword was nice to look at, but a shield and sword with fresh blood staining them was what made them a grander sight, because the enemies would not dare make a hasty move. In a way, Zachariah needed Castiel's Grace – his equivalent of blood – to scare off any angel who might be against him.

Castiel had no choice but to obey.

O_x

By the end of the day, Castiel was exhausted and beaten, ready to fall apart at any moment. Every tiny momvement brought bursts of agony to ripple across his form until even maintaining his light was an enormous task. So he curled up under a weeping willow in the Garden to rest, practically melting into the shadows without his light to mark his presence. He was so tired, every inch of him hurt so bad…

Someone was shaking him. "Castiel. Castiel!"

Castiel blearily opened his eyes and, with much effort, peered up at the one who had disturbed him. "Inias?"

His brother crouched down and helped him sit up. "I heard you had… lessons with Zachariah." he said, picking the word carefully.

Castiel flinched at the mere mention of it. "Yes." he said.

There was a moment of silence as Inias twiddled apprehensively with his right wing-tip. "How are you?" he asked.

For a second, Castiel thought about not answering that question; the condition of his form should be enough to describe his predicament. "I hope to get used to it." he replied.

Inias made a small, uneasy noise, then he smiled as he reached for something inside his pouch. "Here. I got it from the Infirmary." he said. It was a healing balm, a tiny ball of light gathered from the collision of a birth of a star and a death of another, mixed with a bit of angelic healing properties.

"You shouldn't – " Castiel began.

"It's too late now, isn't it?" said Inias, his grin half-nervous and half-reckless. He offered the balm to him. "Take it."

Castiel hesitated, although the pain that shot up from his wings was enough to convince him. "Thank you, brother." he said softly. He placed the balm at his Grace to let the light be absorbed, and gradually, he felt his strength coming back.

The chance of the two of them resting underneath the shade was shattered as Hester came flying into view. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere!" she yelled to Inias. Upon noting Castiel, her expression turned somber and she slowly landed. "Hello, Castiel." she greeted coolly.

"Hello, Hester." Castiel returned.

Inias must have sensed the tension that was suddenly present, that Castiel was still very much vulnearble and not fully recovered from his time with Zachariah, and that Hester was uneasy around him due to the meaning behind his injuries. "What is it?" he asked, transferring Hester's attention to him.

Hester seemed glad to focus on something else. "Have you seen Zachariah lately?" she asked.

At that, Inias glanced at Castiel, since he was the last one to see him. "Not since… this." Castiel answered, gesturing at his form.

"Why? What's going on?" asked Inias, saving Castiel from any further scrutiny.

Hester made an odd face, as if she was holding back an earlier reaction. "You should come see. You too, Castiel; especially you." she said.

Inias and Castiel exchanged inquisitive glances with one another, although they both agreed to accompany Hester.

They landed in a section of Heaven where, ordinarily, there would hardly be any angels in sight. Currently, however, a huge crowd was present, and virtually every angel appeared to be on the brink of bursting out in laughter, but they were all holding it in, since angels were not supposed to exhibit such open emotion. The most that came out of them were furtive snickers, half-hidden chuckles and giddy whispers; this was the first time in the history of Heaven that this many angels displayed so much emotion.

There was only one angel who was not as happy as the others, and he was in the very midst of the gathering.

"When I get these things off me, you are all going to pay dearly!" screamed Zachariah. His entire form was smothered in pink flowers, right to the point that he could almost be mistaken for a moving, talking pile of flowers. When he tried to send an energy blast at a group of angels, a calm jet of flowers trickled out of his hand instead. The surrounding angels chortled even more, and Castiel found himself giggling a bit at the fate of his superior.

Once they had had enough of watching Zachariah make a bigger fool out of himself by screaming and thrashing and threatening, Hester, Castiel and Inias huddled a few meters away from the crowd. "Do you have any idea how this happened?" Hester asked Castiel in a hushed tone.

"I might." said Castiel, unable to prevent a tiny smile. "And I believe I'm partly to blame."

His two siblings stared at him incredulously. "How did you do it?" asked Inias.

"I don't believe you." commented Hester at the same time.

Castiel made certain that no one was listening before he opted to answer. "It started with our trip to the Greek Underworld," he said. He considered telling them about Zachariah's misadventures when he had been under the effects of the River Lethe, though decided against it, at least for the moment. "And… we met Persephone."

"And what did Persephone do to me?"

The three of them fell over in shock upon hearing Zachariah's voice behind them. Sure enough, Zachariah was looming above them, and in spite of his ridiculously floral appearance and delightful fragrance, the intensity of his glare did not fail to send Hester and Inias flying for safety; Castiel, unfortunately, was rooted to the spot.

"Castiel, you are in for the most brutal punishment that the laws of reality can allow." snarled Zachariah, and his lion-face emitted a full roar. "I want you tell me everything, _truthfully,_ before I pulverize you to the point that you would barely function." he threatened.

Castiel suppressed the whimper that was fighting its way to be heard. If his 'enlightenment' had reduced him to a state even less substantial than a shadow, then whatever punishment Zachariah had in store for him would obliterate every spark of light that constituted his being… assuming his powers were still fully functional given his flowery situation.

"Can I get a bit of hush 'round here?"

Both Zachariah and Castiel went to a standstill as they figured out the source of the voice; for Castiel, it eventually dawned on him that the voice sounded awfully familiar to Persephone, except tinier, and it was like she was coming from a distant location.

All of a sudden, one of the pink flowers on Zachariah, in the place where a human heart would have been placed, moved. It twitched, jerked away from the bunch and stretched a little further out, an act which reminded Castiel of a snake waking up and examining its setting. A few seconds elapsed and the flower's petals folded and scrunched to form Persephone's face. Castiel realized that the flower was a medium, a way for Persephone to communicate to them; the flower was not really Persephone herself, regardless of the fact that the petals were blinking and breathing.

Once the transformation was over, Zachariah's anger flared up again the moment he recognized Persephone's face. "You despicable – !"

"You, howler-monkey, shut up." interrupted Persephone.

Zachariah's expression went livid. "How dare you spea– !" he heatedly began.

"What did I just say?" snapped Persephone. "I'm the one who did this to you, and only I have the power to undo it, or intensify it." she said, adding an aggressive tone at the end. She shook her head disdainfully. "For a guy who goes on and on about obedience, you sure have a hard time following instructions." she said. When she turned to Castiel, her features became more pleasant and her voice much more amiable. "Hey there, sugarplum. How's life in the clouds?" she asked genially.

"Hello, Persephone. Everything is… tolerable." replied Castiel.

Persephone sighed, and if she was not presently a flower, she might have given Castiel a protective squeeze. "You poor thing." she cooed. She returned to Zachariah and her expression was irate once more. "Alright, howler-monkey, listen up: you see these flowers on you? Every time you push someone around, or you're just plain mean, flowers will pop out. Might as well have something pretty on the _outside_ to mask all that nastiness inside." she explained.

"You can't – !" yelled Zachariah.

"Do I look like I'm done talking?" Persephone brazenly cut in. "Now, flowers will keep growing on you until you start acting _nice."_ she said.

"There is no way I'm taking any orders from a cave-dwelling _whore."_ retorted Zachariah. True to her word, ten more flowers bloomed at Zachariah's face, nearly covering his mouth.

"Your choice. I think you have a future in being the first flying, supernatural bouquet." joked Persephone.

Castiel imagined his superior as a flying bouquet. It was a weird thought.

"Oh, and as a final bargaining chip, if you be good, I won't spread this around." Another flower stretched out under Persephone, albeit instead of revealing a face, it brought forth a small clear crystal. Soon, images began to form within the crystal, quickly depicting Zachariah drinking from the River Lethe and swinging upside-down from the stalactites.

"That's just a projection. That can't be real." defended Zachariah, though Castiel manage to catch the horrified waver in his voice.

The crystal was swallowed up by the flower. "There are eyes everywhere in the Underworld. You have at least a thousand witnesses." stated Persephone.

It was at that moment that visible fear flashed across Zachariah's four faces, like the rapid spreading of a plague; Castiel had never seen him so susceptible in all his creation.

"You can start by apologizing to this fledgling." said Persephone.

Zachariah's familiar mask of irritation fell back into place. "There's nothing to apologize." he muttered. A flower sprouted at his front.

"And fishes drown." commented Persephone dryly.

Grumbling, Zachariah slowly faced Castiel. "Castiel," he started, and the sheer amount of effort he was exerting was comparable to a human pushing at a boulder. "I'm… I'm… sorry." he gritted out, as if every syllable burned and ripped at his Grace.

"About?" Persephone pressed on.

A huge, resentful scowl manifested on Zachariah's mouth. "Using you as a footstool one time." he mumbled.

One flower noticeably disappeared from his form.

"That's it? Just _one?"_ he complained.

"Keep going, you'll get there." said Persephone, grinning.

Zachariah stared at her disbelievingly, and it looked like he was doing everything within his ability to prevent himself from losing control. If degradation was a real weapon, Zachariah's Grace would have been tattered beyond recognition as he, sullenly, went around Heaven apologizing to everyone he had ever insulted, taken advantage of or done wrong. Castiel tagged along because, one, he was directly related to Persephone's curse so he wanted to carry his share of responsibility and, two, he secretly wanted to see his superior humbled by every means, to witness him (in one way or another) make amends to the angels he had maltreated. It was a quite satisfying spectacle, and Castiel was glad that he was there to behold every apology, all eight hundred twelve thousand, three hundred sixty-seven of them.

"Why is a bunch still there?" Zachariah tiredly asked, motioning at the flowers still adhered to his chest.

"You'd have to do something more than just apologize." said Persephone.

"Like _what?"_ demanded Zachariah.

"Repeat after me." instructed Persephone. "Castiel, your services are no longer required. Your obligations to me have been fulfilled."

Zachariah's wings jolted in offense, while Castiel felt a flutter of hope deep inside his Grace. "That's going too far." Zachariah said.

"The things you did to him went too far! He could've left you in the Underworld as an imbecile forever, yet he still did the right thing and brought you back. Say the words!" yelled Persephone.

If Zachariah had not been embarrassed enough for today, his glare at Persephone would have been more venomous, and he would have put up more of a fight. "Castiel… your services… are no longer required. Your obligations to me… have been… have been fulfilled." he recited grudgingly. The second he finished talking, Castiel could have sworn that he felt some kind of chain that tethered him to Zachariah break apart.

"Was that too hard?" asked Persephone good-naturedly.

The last of the pink flowers leisurely detached themselves from Zachariah, including the flower Persephone was using to talk to them. Zachariah did not spend another moment out in the open; with his level of shame at its peak, he hastily retreated to his chambers.

Castiel gingerly picked up the Persephone-flower. "Thank you, Persephone." he said, and every pulse of light from his Grace reverberated with immense gratitude. He hoped she could feel that all the way down in the Underworld; he did not know what else he could say to convey his reaction, or if he _should_ say anything else.

Persephone smiled at him. "You gonna be alright? Sooner or later, the howler-monkey's gonna be howling again." she said.

That, unfortunately, was inevitable. "I know, but I'll manage by then." said Castiel.

"Take care of yourself, sugarplum." she said. There was that bittersweet aura around her again, like she was a bit sad to say farewell.

"You too." replied Castiel, and he kissed the topmost petal, where her forehead ought to be; Persephone laughed at that. When Castiel pulled away, the flower fell apart and Persephone was gone.

As he tenderly held the petals, he felt something smooth and hard underneath them. Castiel pushed the petals aside only to discover that he was in possession of the crystal that recorded Zachariah's inanity in the Underworld.

He really ought to destroy it. Zachariah had suffered more than enough for today and, besides, Heaven was still recovering from the memory of Zachariah swathed in flowers, plus the fact that he apologized to nearly every angel. He deserved some reprieve.

While that may be the right thing to do, Castiel pocketed the crystal and took flight in search of Inias. He was certain his brother, and probably the rest of his garrison, could use another laugh.

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_For those who are curious of what a 'mobile' is, here is an example (just remove the spaces): h t t p : / / t i n y u r l . c o m / 7 l f g b w g _

_Only two angels to go for this series! (I _might_ write a little sorta-sequel that features all the angels that didn't have their own story here, like Rachel, Virgil, Inias…)_

_As for the next story, who do you think it will be: Michael or Lucifer?_


	22. Guidance from Michael

AN: I blame school for keeping me busy and stressed (where I'm from, school starts on June, so while the rest of the world is on summer vacation, I'm stuck with a crap-load of papers). Also, Torchlight is rather addicting. Anyone here plays that game? :D

* * *

_Whatever you do, I'll do it too_

_Show me everything and tell me how_

_It all means something_

_And yet nothing to me_

_._

_I can see there's so much to learn_

_It's all so close and yet so far_

_I see myself as people see me_

_Oh, I just know there's something_

_bigger out there_

_._

_Strangers Like Me ~ Phil Collins_

* * *

The city was ablaze with violent streaks of orange clawing their way out of homes and angry bursts of yellow detonating at the same rhythm as the villagers' panicked heartbeats. A once peaceful civilization was in utter chaos and the extent of destruction was irreparable. Michael watched on in dismay as the human casualties escalated.

He wondered how he ever became involved in this, because this was not – had never been – what he tasked himself with. His initial intentions had been good, yet somehow events spiraled so far down at a pace that was too quick to comprehend, even for him.

Amidst the pandemonium, the fledgling currently under his supervision got himself in an accident as well. Castiel was trapped in a ring of holy fire. The flames had devoured a wooden shelf that happened to store the right ingredients for concocting the special oil; when the shelf crumbled, the jars broke and spilled their contents onto the ground, and it did not take long for the fire to slither along. Since it had been unintentionally made, the ring was not in a perfect shape but, in spite of that, it was enough to render the fledgling helpless.

Michael wondered why he even went this far to help him.

Castiel was scared, and he had every right to be. Not only was he trapped, but there was also another shelf high above him – holding the same properties for holy oil – that was steadily being consumed by the flames. If that shelf gave way, the ingredients would catch fire on the way down as they pass the burning walls. If that would transpire, Castiel would be directly hit since the imperfect ring of holy fire was so cramped that he would have no means of escape. In that case, it would be instant death for him, because no matter the manifestation, fledglings would be killed if they ever so much as touch a spark of holy fire.

Michael wondered if he should help him, one more time, despite all the trouble Castiel had caused, all the lives that he had scarred.

The upper shelf creaked precariously and Castiel stared at Michael, wordlessly begging the archangel to release him from his fiery prison. Tears, shining fifty times brighter than the flames, began to trickle out of the fledgling's blue eyes.

Michael wondered if he should rescue Castiel, the brother who acted so much like Lucifer.

O_x

_**Earlier**_

The time came once again when the newest additions of Heaven were to be given their titles, their lifelong purpose in creation. Each fledgling would have to be known specifically for something when they become full-grown angels. Angel of Light, Angel of Vengeance, Angel of Laughter, Angel of Creativity, Angel of Triumph, and so on. A fledgling's potential must be discovered in order for their title to be bestowed upon. Since every fledgling was unique, the same should go for their designation; the more domains the angels had under them, the better the forces of Heaven were.

Traditionally, the sacred task fell to God. Lately, however, it was Michael's job to decipher the fledglings' capabilities and ascertain that they receive proper guidance. The responsibility came with being the oldest among the angels, and since by now he ought to be fairly familiar with all of his brothers and sisters. Of course, Michael took over for his Father without question.

He was inside a chamber as cavernous as an ocean of Earth and he sat in the very center of it. The place was huge because every possible forte of a fledgling had to be considered and accommodated, such as a knack for speed or acrobatics, a talent for fantastic transformation, a gift for manipulating nature, or any other impressive feat.

Michael had recently finished another consultation and, so far, he was pleased to know that nearly half a million fledglings were going to serve their Father quite well in the future. Albeit it would take a bit of time and practice to hone their skills to perfection, Michael could not have asked for better siblings.

"Next," he announced to the gigantic door where, on the other side, a couple of hundred more fledglings were waiting to be admitted inside. Michael glanced at his list of names. "Castiel." he called out.

The door remained shut for some time, and when Michael was starting to wonder if the fledgling in question even heard him (and it was impossible to turn a deaf ear to an archangel), the door was gradually pushed forward until a sliver of an opening was visible. Regardless, after waiting for a moment, no one stepped inside, yet Michael could feel the fledgling's presence just behind the door, and his Grace was radiating sheer tentativeness.

"Come, little one. Time is precious." urged Michael.

There was a faint whimper on the opposite end – no doubt a sign of fearful reluctance – before Castiel went in. He was a tiny thing, much smaller compared to the other fledglings, but his light shone brighter than the rest of them. His form reminded Michael of a sharp bit of blue diamond surrounded by duller stones, and Michael could not help himself in being slightly intrigued.

In his timid manner, Castiel approached Michael, and throughout his short trip, he was caught between the disorienting awe most fledglings would experience whenever in the proximity of an archangel and nervousness for his own sake. Once Castiel was standing in front of him, it took him a few seconds to remember to bow to his presence, and he performed the gesture in awkward haste.

"Now, Castiel, what are you good at?" asked Michael, trying to be as nonthreatening as possible.

Another moment of hesitance. "Nothing, sir." said Castiel shyly.

This was the first time a fledgling ever answered that, and for them to believe that God had made a mistake in some way was almost blasphemy. "Surely there's something. Our Father wouldn't create you without the bestowal of a gift or talent." he said.

Castiel's wings twitched inward as a need to hide himself. "I don't think I have one." he muttered.

"Nonsense." said Michael, and perhaps his voice was a tad loud because Castiel retreated a step. He studied the fledgling to see if there were any visible attributes (besides his light) that suggested an unrecognized talent or so, albeit he found not a trace. "Perhaps some experimentation is required." Michael proposed.

He put some distance in between them and unfurled his wings from where they were tucked away behind his back. The action brought an explosion of a supernova in the chamber and, for one heartbeat, it was like the two of them were in the complex, shimmering webbings of the universe. Castiel ogled at the spectacle in shock and nearly fell over in its magnificence.

"Knock me down." ordered Michael. The reason why he spread out his wings was to make him as big a target as possible; he would be more open to any attack this way. When Castiel looked at him as if he was being commanded to break every law in Heaven, Michael gave him an encouraging, if not challenging, little smile. "Go ahead. Try to knock me down. Give me the most powerful blast you can muster." he said.

Castiel made a feeble noise that resembled a whimper, and it was obvious that he was frightened to do _anything_ to an archangel, let alone Michael. However, since he was under orders, he had no choice but to obey. He very reluctantly got into a fighting stance and prepared to harness his energy within his Grace. After a couple of seconds, Castiel released a ball of energy and threw it at Michael… though it ended up landing halfway and quickly fizzled out. The chamber was draped in awkward silence for a while.

"Needs work. Maybe you're more equipped for dealing with the elements." commented Michael. He folded his wings and approached Castiel. "Produce any weather pattern of your choosing."

Now, Castiel seemed more uncertain rather than terrified, and Michael took that as an improvement. There was an expression of confusion on him which implied he could not decide what to conjure that would be impressive enough to please an archangel.

After a short while, Castiel started creating a miniature puff of cloud that changed from white to gray, as if it, too, was having difficulties in what state it should be in. The cloud soon took on a gray hue and a mild drizzle was produced the instant the cloud had settled. Judging from its outward appearance, the cloud looked fine; however, Michael wanted to test if it was internally stable.

Michael made a little tornado at a size similar to Castiel's rain cloud and sent it toward the fledgling's creation. The objective was to check if the cloud's structure would prove durable against a threat, such as winds ripping through the air. The tornado and the cloud collided, and their friction brought about sparks of would-be lightning and weak pulses of aerial shockwave.

Castiel did his best to maintain the cloud's shape, but the cloud's edges were rapidly being shredded. Before long, the cloud was obliterated and the extra pressure from the tornado sent Castiel to the floor. Immediately, Michael erased the tornado and went to see if his brother had sustained any damages, which, thankfully, he did not. Only when Castiel managed to get up did Michael choose to speak again.

"What about setting the stars ablaze? Do you believe yourself capable of such a feat?" asked Michael. Stars were a complicated matter to most angels, but to the few who were able to produce them effortlessly belonged to a highly-privileged category.

The developing misery on Castiel's face dissipated, which allowed a bit of hope and fascination light up his eyes. To better help him, Michael crouched down until he could meet the level of Castiel's gaze. Initially, Castiel retracted and was fearful at such an act, like he was a fragile rabbit who was wary of anything that attempted to be near him. Michael soothed his brother by extending his open palm at him and letting a fraction of his Grace warm him over. Once Castiel had calmed down, Michael used the same small portion of Grace to show the fledgling the process of building a star. After observing for some time, Castiel dared to slowly copy his example.

"That's it, that's it…" said Michael. He nimbly flicked a strand of light to the side, and Castiel followed. He twisted a bubble of heat and dropped it into the core, Castiel did the same. For a moment, Michael thought that this was it, that he had found Castiel's field of expertise…

Then Castiel's infant star wavered and its radiance exploded in a manner similar to a popped bubble.

Castiel stared at his shattered work in dejection and Michael spared him a pitying glance. "What am I to do with you?" he sighed.

"I'm sorry, sir." said Castiel. There was a notable quiver in his voice and his form unconsciously trembled along with it. He had his head bowed so low that his face was no longer seen.

Michael scrutinized him very carefully. Castiel had been the lone fledgling to ever undergo a bit of trial and error, in the entire history of Heaven. The other fledglings knew exactly what they were capable of, what they wanted, how they saw themselves. Castiel was proving to be very… different from the rest, and that unnerved Michael somewhat because he knew another angel who was unlike the others. And he liked to think of that angel as less as possible nowadays.

"How many more fledglings are outside?" Michael asked loudly. He had his sight set on the region beyond the chamber's ceiling and waited.

_*NINE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT.* _spoke the Metatron.

"Less than a thousand. That's a consolation." commented Michael. He spared a fleeting look at Castiel, who seemed on the brink of tears and was drowning in his flood of self-imposed shame. "Tell them that their counseling for individual designations will be postponed until further notice. One of our brothers is in dire need of my guidance and I will only move on when he has found his title." announced Michael.

Stunned, Castiel's head snapped up and he strived to rein in his unshed tears. "Sir…" he gasped quietly.

"Send them my apologies as well." added Michael.

_*AS YOU COMMAND.* _spoke the Metatron.

"I-I'm not important enough for you to extend your time on me." said Castiel.

"It's my policy. I must finish a whole session before focusing on another sibling. I can't break my own rule." said Michael sternly. Despite the fact that this would cause a massive delay, he knew taking on this task was an absolute necessary. "Besides, our Father never created anyone who wasn't important." said Michael, breaking his somber façade with a more caring tone. He loved all of his siblings, and to exclude even one of them was like to gain a critical slash from a sword.

Michael chuckled at Castiel's wonder-filled expression before making a move to slip out of the chamber's secret exit, to avoid startling the fledglings still outside. "Follow me."

TBC

* * *

_Metatron: voice of God_

_I sort of based the Metatron on the one in Good Omens, except without the personality. I'm actually kinda happy that I got to include the Metatron in this story before it ends… even though he/she/it just acts like Michael's personal secretary or something XD_

_Again, thank you so much for still reading this story. It really does mean a lot!_


	23. Second

AN: Senior year at college sucks. That is all.

* * *

_I'll be there someday, I can go the distance_

_I will find my way, if I can be strong,_

_I'll know every mile, will be worth my while,_

_When I go the distance I'll be right where I belong._

_._

_I Can Go the Distance ~ Michael Bolton_

* * *

They penetrated the veil that separated Heaven and Earth, moving as seamlessly as a dream filling a human's subconscious. Michael touched down on a patch of dry grass near a stonewall that encircled a village. Castiel landed beside him a second later, though he made sure that the distance between them was far enough so that he would not brush against the archangel's glorious wings.

Michael scanned the area to check for any 'open positions' that his brother could take. "Tell me, Castiel, what do you think of human rituals?" he inquired after a moment.

The sudden question rendered Castiel momentarily flustered before he managed to compose himself. "As long as the rituals praise our Father, then I think they are good." he replied.

A faint smile made its way across Michael's face. That was actually a decent answer; the fledgling might have a chance in this trial. "Care to see if your calling lies there?" he asked.

All Castiel did was stare widely at him, and Michael assumed that he was ready to undertake it. Michael turned and phased through the stonewall to enter the village. The inhabitants remained unaware of his presence as they went on with their mundane tasks of doing the laundry and carrying supplies from one point to another. When Michael glanced backward, he noticed that Castiel had not moved from his spot.

"Come along, brother. You must not dally." said Michael firmly. Castiel tensed and immediately trailed after him.

Michael knew that this was one of the more religious places on Earth – and by religious, he referred to it as a site where people worshiped God, and not the other deities who claimed to be as such. This should be a safe location for a fledgling to explore and learn without being corrupted in the process.

The only problem he noted was a small group of men huddled in an alley close to the church. From what he could gather listening to their grumbled conversations, as well as quickly reading their individual backgrounds, these men were complaining about the taxes imposed on them by the local priests. They were basically miserable, and albeit they had no quarrel with the church, they did, however, harbor bitter feelings toward the priests. Michael purposely led Castiel away from them and even used his wings to block them from his brother's sight.

They approached the church and glided effortlessly through the side wall. Upon reaching the other side, Michael realized that they were inside the secluded chamber of the church, where the priests would perform their more drastic ceremonies and rituals without the public watching. At the moment, there were five priests in the chamber, and each was doing his own part to carry out the ritual.

"These are the priests of this land. It is their responsibility to be the link between the mortal men and the Heavenly Host… or at least they try to be." said Michael as the priest who was holding a basin tripped and spilled a bit of the water.

Castiel tore his gaze away from a priest methodically chopping up a bundle of herbs. "I don't understand." he replied, staring at Michael.

"They teach the people the law and will of God, but oftentimes they are either misled by their own intentions or cannot grasp the precise meaning of something." explained Michael.

In the very corner of the room, he saw a considerably large amount of coins that seemed quite too much, even if they were to serve the church. He extended his vision a little more and noticed specks of dried tears on a number of coins, tears made in grief and desperate anger. As his eyes continued to wander, he became aware of the smidgens of dirt on the coins as well. It was not the typical kind of dirt that usually found its way to the humans' possessions; this dirt implied that there had been struggle, as if someone forcefully tried to keep something from being stolen. These must be the taxes.

"The priests are a few of our human conduits, although sadly they, too, are vulnerable to walk the path of a lost sheep." said Michael.

"So we help them?" asked Castiel.

"We guide them." Michael corrected. "We push them toward the right direction, and we keep them on the right path. If the priests impart false knowledge upon the people, then hundreds of men and women will be besmirching God's name." He looked down at his brother. "You don't want that to happen, do you?"

If it were possible, Castiel's eyes widened even more. "No, sir!" he squeaked, downright terrified.

"In that case, are you willing to take up this job?" inquired Michael.

Castiel glanced at the priests and then back at Michael, his expression serious. "What am I to do?" he asked.

"How about something simple first?" said Michael.

They surreptitiously moved closer to the priests until they were mere inches away from them, though Michael allowed Castiel be much nearer for a better observation. Currently, the priests were kneeling on the floor and letting a continual stream of chants flow out of their lips. The candles had been lit and the chamber was beginning to overflow with the smell of incense and mixed herbs.

"What are they doing?" Michael questioned Castiel.

The fledgling's head tilted to side, as if the information he was getting was a little heavy for his mind to contain. "Praying?" he ventured.

"Yes, or to be more exact, asking for a sign. Unlike our faith, the faith of humans is not as resolute. They can hold on tightly, yet they can also slip or waver." clarified Michael. He did his best not to think about it, but he failed and his thoughts went to the cause of why the humans were delicately prone to sin. It was all because of a single angel who Fell many, many, many eons ago…

Michael snapped out of his reverie when a priest tapped on a brass bell. It was never good to dwell on the past, especially _that _segment of the past. Right now, he had another brother to worry about; Castiel needed to have a title so he could attain an official role in creation and learn his place in Heaven.

"Show them a sign that someone is listening to their prayers." said Michael, his tone encouraging. If Castiel performed a good job in this, he could be deemed as the Angel of Holy Rituals or something along those lines. He had the temperament for it, as well as the interest.

There was a ring of sigils painted on the floor and the priests were in it. For a fully-grown angel, the sigils were harmless; for a fledgling, it would be like being impaled by a dozen spikes. To succeed in this task, Castiel had to exert enough power to overcome the effects of the ring.

Castiel nervously stepped forward without breaching the barrier of symbols and analyzed the chamber, possibly searching for a medium he could use. His eyes stopped roaming the moment he came across the bowls of herbs at the foot of the tiny altar. He appeared to concentrate on telekinetically stirring the contents, yet the sole thing he achieved was to turn over a handful of leaves, an act that went unnoticed by the priests.

"More effort, Castiel." Michael told him.

This time, Castiel's sight found the arc of candles at the edge of the ring. He concentrated harder on manipulating them, but just one candle ended up affected, and all it did was flicker briefly toward the opposite direction.

"Again." ordered Michael.

In the third attempt, Michael was not even sure what Castiel was focusing on. However, the mere fact that he, an archangel, was unable to find any sort of change was worse.

"You must capture their attention. Do something more obvious." said Michael, and the commanding tenor of a general was beginning to reveal itself.

Castiel shrank back at that because, as a soldier-in-training, there was no mistaking that voice; comprehending it was as instinctive as the gift of flight. He became more desperate now and his gaze settled on the basin filled with holy water at the top of a pedestal. His Grace stretched out as far as it could to endeavor to control the water, and his wings flapped a couple of times behind him as if to offer an extra push.

A minute passed and Michael thought that nothing would happen. Then, the water started swishing erratically, and the movements were actually strong enough to rock the basin a little bit. Nonetheless, the noise it was creating was drowned out by the priests' chanting, plus the fact that their voices were echoing loudly across the chamber. Castiel did not appear to be disheartened and instead kept directing his strength to the water.

Suddenly, the water leapt up and hit the priests in a miniature blast. The impact was not severe, but the pure shock of what occurred gave the priests a justifiable reason to scream out of the chamber as if they accidentally unleashed the wrath of God. The sound of their wild terror reverberated across the walls for several minutes.

"I believe I made it _too _obvious." muttered Castiel.

Michael said nothing and tried to remain calm. His brother had just frightened away a handful of priests – mortal deliverers of the Word of God – and may possibly have convinced them that they were being punished or rejected. This could greatly affect the entire mindset of the people, with the priests making them believe in their hysteria and instilling unwanted perceptions in them.

He went out of the church to see if the priests had already started in dealing out any repercussions; Castiel followed him. Thankfully, the village was still peaceful, although Michael was concerned that he could not sense any of the five priests nearby.

What got his attention, however, was the group of men moping by the sidelines… or at least they had been moping a while ago. Now, they were laughing so hard that there was a real possibility that they might topple over each other. Apparently, they had seen the priests fleeing and approved of the spectacle. One of the men stated that he had not laughed this hard in years. Michael, meanwhile, was peeved that they were taking their religion too lightly.

"Let's find a different place." he said to Castiel. Michael set off to the west and a perplexed fledgling stumbled after him.

O_x

The two angels appeared near a small riverbed that had been the life source of a once thriving citadel not made by human hands. By now, it was reduced to rubble, although the leftover supernatural energy from centuries ago still shone like a lit piece of coal in a pit.

Their travel had been so fast that Castiel barely managed to keep up with Michael, let alone register where they were. He curiously looked around their surroundings to try to figure out their location, yet no matter how much effort he was putting into concealing his thoughts, Michael had no trouble reading the uneasiness his brother had.

"You wish to know where we are," stated Michael, knowing full well that it was a fact instead of letting the words come out as a query.

Castiel's wings twitched protectively around him and his gaze went straight to the ground. "Yes, sir." he mumbled.

The shame of failure from his mishap at the church dragged heavily at his Grace which, for Michael, was readily apparent. "There's nothing wrong if you want to speak first. You don't have to wait for me to ask you something or for me to give you permission." he said.

At that, Castiel stared up at Michael as if he was being given a second chance, as well as forgiveness, since he was not being scolded or punished. He then stole a glance at their environment and asked, "Wh-Where are we?"

Michael extended the wings on his right side and gestured for them to go inside the remains of the citadel. "We are in an area that will someday be known as Nazca, located in the south-western hemisphere of the Earth that will be named South America. For now, this is called The Aoh." said Michael.

While it was true that his power was not centered on seeing the future, he did have a somewhat limited access to it. The whole details of what was to come remained murky to him, but there were bits that he could decipher, and he thought it was an advantage to inform the other angels of what was imminent so as to be better prepared for it; every piece of information was precious.

Castiel dutifully stayed close to Michael, albeit the way his eyes went over every crumbled rock, every broken glyph, and every faded mural hinted that he was fascinated and wanted to explore the citadel. Unfortunately, they were not here to explore.

"This used to be the melting pot of a Fae tribe and a branch of the Atlantean civilization, but its inhabitants had long since moved on." explained Michael.

It was hard to believe it now, but there were still traces of their reality etched upon the buildings. The stones had been enchanted to be colored blue and green so that everything would appear lush; the structures had been specially designed to accommodate creatures of both water and air; and a domed edifice, previously a laboratory, had been devoted to and responsible for creating the flying fish. Presently, the continued existence of the flying fish was all that was left of them.

"Why?" asked Castiel, sounding completely crestfallen.

"War broke out." said Michael flatly as he stared ahead. He chose not to add the fact that it was the angels that had driven them out of the citadel in the first place. The alliance of the species had brought about a level of progress so intensely sophisticated that they were beginning to challenge the rule of God.

"Do you think you're able to hide this?" asked Michael. They were out of the ruins now and the sun was baking the land like bread.

Shock illuminated Castiel's eyes. "But, sir… the culture… the history…" he said.

"The world does not need to know this, not for an incredibly long time." said Michael.

Some things – constructed out of Atlantean technology and Fae magic – in the citadel were too advanced to be handled, especially by mortals. Castiel seemed to appreciate history, or at least value the advancement made by other beings. However, there were already angels designated to those roles and no two angels should have the same title. For here, Castiel will prove whether or not he can take on the burden of being the Angel of Concealment, which would tackle, not just hiding things physically, but also from memory.

With obedience and sad acceptance seeping into him, Castiel put his concerns aside. "How am I to hide this?" he inquired.

"That decision falls to you." said Michael.

Castiel held the ruins in his gaze for a long time, as if apologizing or saying goodbye. Finally, he flew over to where the grass gave way to sand and started creating a sandstorm. As the grains of sand violently swirled and a wind pushed them toward the direction of The Aoh, Michael noticed that the manner in which the storm carried itself was sloppy – it would be effective in burying the citadel, but it lacked the elegant force a true storm needed to possess. Thankfully, Castiel was not here to become the Angel of Storms.

When the sandstorm had gotten enough momentum to operate on its own, Michael pulled a very flustered Castiel to his side, a good distance away from the citadel.

"Stand back and let nature do its work." he said.

They did so and, for a second, Michael thought that this would be a success. However, that was not to be the case.

"Lizard!" Castiel cried out. And all of a sudden, Castiel slipped out of Michael's hold and zoomed toward the sandstorm. After a few minutes, it became clear that Castiel was manipulating the path of the sandstorm; its formerly smooth descent turned into haphazard jerks and wide sweeps.

"Castiel! What are you doing? Get back here!" Michael ordered.

He expected the fledgling to come back instantaneously, but he was fairly stunned when Castiel kept directing the sandstorm to random directions. Michael waited a while longer, although his brother remained in the distance as if… as if he was ignoring him, disobeying a command straight from an archangel. This had never happened before. No one ever dared to disobey him; it was as debauched as committing a sin with his standards.

No one defied him… except for one, and his fate had been far from pleasant.

Michael took off, grabbed Castiel and landed on the top of a rocky mountain. Without Castiel controlling the sandstorm below, it collapsed and a huge amount of sand rained down on The Aoh, burying it under multiple layers of sand.

"What was that about?" demanded Michael. His eyes blazed with genuine fire for a fleeting moment.

"I was trying to save the lizard." whimpered Castiel, absolutely terrified of him now but striving, with every bit of his Grace, to stand his ground and explain himself.

Michael's anger ebbed and was replaced by puzzlement.

"It was pregnant." Castiel reasoned out in a pathetic voice. He bent his head down and looked away in an effort to hide the fact that he was going to cry.

Michael calmed himself down and considered his brother with empathy. So he had spotted a lizard and wanted to rescue it from the sandstorm. It was a noble deed, Michael supposed; nonetheless, Castiel performed an act of reckless insubordination.

"You can't just interfere like that." said Michael, using a soothing tone. After all, he wanted to guide him, not demean him. "One lizard's life isn't significant enough to drastically change the path of a storm." he stated.

"Four, sir." whispered Castiel.

"What?"

"There were four lives. Not just one." he meekly clarified.

If not for the fact that he was an angel, Michael would have rolled his eyes or sighed like a human who was doing everything in their ability to tolerate someone they cared about. Since Castiel confirmed that he was unfit for this job, Michael wished to depart as soon as possible. But when he checked on his brother, he found out that his wings were trembling with fatigue after tugging and shoving that sandstorm in virtually every direction conceivable.

"You have until sundown to recuperate." said Michael sternly.

Castiel peered up at him and probably wanted to say his gratitude, yet stopped himself when Michael turned away from him. To be honest, Michael was still – for lack of a better word – upset. One of his brothers had disobeyed him and he needed all the time he could acquire to calm down and seek wisdom from their Father.

As the hours passed, Michael watched the landscape below for any detrimental side-effects from Castiel's sandstorm. In his attempt to 'save the lizard,' a large, extremely conspicuous spiral was on the ground, and it was sure to catch someone's attention.

Right on cue, a couple of humans – part of the same assortment of wanderers that seemed to be so plentiful on the planet lately – appeared on the horizon. They were tired from their journey, and so opted to rest behind one of the rock formations in the area. Michael extended his sight further and noticed that a few mosquitoes were flying near the humans' camp. The mosquitoes happened to be carrying a disease that would potentially be fatal for the humans who were not accustomed to this sort of land.

Then, a pregnant lizard emerged from behind a stone and began to eat the mosquitoes one by one using its tongue. Michael stared at the sight in disbelief.

As if the situation could not escalate any further, a child broke off from the group to explore and discovered Castiel's spiral. The child called at the rest of the humans and they all gathered around the spiral to ponder over it.

Michael reckoned it was time for him and Castiel to leave before he witnessed anything else.

O_x

For their third destination, they landed in the middle of the busy center of a northern city, where the structures were made out of marble and the roads were mixed with smatterings of quartz. The air was filled with the scent of fresh olives and the sound of bells tinkling at the front of the nearby homes.

A group of children, none of them over a decade-old, raced each other and obliviously ran through the two angels. Three boys knocked over a pear stand. The owner of the stand shouted at them, but the children fled before they could be disciplined, snickering along the way. For their sake, Michael hoped their rowdy attitude would improve in the future. He checked up on Castiel and saw that he was staring at the place where the children were last seen; plus, he had on that look that suggested that he was thinking very hard about something.

"The children fascinate you." observed Michael.

Feeling caught, Castiel transferred his gaze to a stray pear on the ground that the owner had failed to pick up. "Balthazar said that, if I were human, my age would be equivalent to theirs." he said.

Michael found that notion to be rather… odd. It was silly to compare angels to humans. "Do you believe that?" he asked, humoring him.

Seconds passed as Castiel seemed to regard it carefully. "I don't know, sir." he replied.

If Michael was certain of anything about this particular brother, it was that Castiel was one strange fledgling who saw wonder and peculiarities in the most random of things. "It appears that the children are going to school." he said, steering them to a new topic. "Would you like to see your first human class?" he asked him.

Like a hot spark falling and igniting a wick, Castiel's eyes widened and shone brighter in wordless excitement. They followed the path the children took and soon came across the sight of twenty-one children sitting under the shade of a tree. In front of them was an elderly man armed with a few scrolls and books.

The three boys who knocked over the pear stand were present and situated at the back. While the man did his lecture – the topic being the first deeds of the earliest humans – the three boys paid no attention to him and used everything they could get their hands on to entertain themselves. They threw pebbles at the other children and pinned the blame on someone else whenever their victim got too annoyed. One boy stole a coin from a chubby girl's pocket; another put a beetle on the back of a sickly boy; the other tied the belts of two children together. Michael watched on in mild disappointment.

"Sir, they are being taught incorrect accounts." said Castiel, referring to the elderly man's teachings. Clearly, he was more focused on that instead of the damage the three hooligans were causing. Michael wondered if Castiel even knew about them or simply chose not to interfere.

"And you wish to remedy the situation?" inquired Michael. Essentially, the teacher really was rambling on and on about a wrong piece of information, and it was quite sensitive on their part since it touched on the theme of Creation.

Castiel seemed to realize that or, at the very least, picked up on something he learned when the two of them were at the church. "I don't want them to be misled." he said earnestly.

A twitch of a smile graced Michael's mouth. "I'll give you an hour with them. Educate them as you see fit." he said.

The shock on Castiel's face was as evident as a fissure on an icy surface. It was a heavy task to handle for someone as young as him, but he needed to grow and take risks; besides, Michael trusted that he would not mess up too much within an hour. He flew to Heaven and sought a brief time of peace and solitude in his chambers.

When he returned, the noise of bickering and muttering children were gone. Instead, all of the children, especially the three boys at the back, were eerily quiet. Upon closer inspection, Michael saw that their eyes were as big as silver dishes and their mouths hung open in half-formed screams. Meanwhile, the teacher was sitting dumbly against the tree, as if trying to comprehend what happened. There were traces of angelic influence on his mind, so Michael assumed that Castiel bestowed a fraction of Revelation onto him which, even at a small amount, can be seriously overwhelming to humans.

It then dawned on Michael that the children were actually traumatized by what they were 'taught,' and the teacher was suffering from some degree of that as well. He noticed a bunch of scrolls with fresh ink on them and scanned their contents. What he read there was the entire history of what happened after the Seven Days, when the purity of Man had faded; _every_ detail was written on the scroll, from the most insignificant to the most… unsettling.

"I might have overestimated the mental capacity of human children." said Castiel guiltily from behind the tree.

"This is too much information, Castiel." said Michael with forced patience.

"But, sir, they have a right to know." said Castiel.

"Not about this."

"It's is a part of who they are – "

"That's enough." Michael cut in. He did not raise his tone, yet it was more frightening when he lowered his voice to a grave level of quiet. It was like the first hushed rumble of the earth just before it emitted a roar powerful enough to shatter the sky, just before the ground opened up to swallow a chain of mountains and gobbled the oceans.

Castiel fell over immediately and struggled to get himself into the lowest kneel he could achieve. "Forgive me, sir." he whimpered.

Michael hated it when he had to strike fear into his siblings to try to have them understand why certain matters had to be the way they were. There was a fragile sense of balance to uphold, and for Castiel's case, that meant keeping some details away from the humans. No one needed to know what Cain truly did to Abel, or the other methods of sacrifice Eve's children performed, or the massacre when a number of them attempted to reclaim Eden, or how there had almost been a second war in Heaven. Those things were best kept secret from humans.

At least the children were behaving now. Whatever the teacher had to say (once he recovered), they would be listening to the lesson attentively.

With a thought, Michael erased what was on the scrolls and pulled Castiel up. "It's time we head off to another location." he said.

TBC

* * *

_So basically Cas started the Nazca lines, and the wandering people thought it was a nifty idea to keep drawing more stuff (don't judge my crazy thoughts XD). __Cas' spiral ended up being the tail of this: _tinyurldotcomslash9dr36da _(just change the "dot" and "slash" to their actual symbols)._

_Fae = Fairy. I thought it would be a cool connection since some people theorized that the Nazca lines were "runways for extraterrestrial beings" A.K.A. aliens, and the aliens we had on the show were fairies. There you go._

_The Atlantean part… well, one of the other Nazca lines is an orca, so to have a sea creature in the middle of a desert is a little "fishy" don't you think? ;)_

_And I think it's safe to say that I'm having way too much fun fiddling with history. Please don't bash me for any historical inaccuracies; every weird detail here is just for the story ^^_


	24. Third

AN: The semester break is finally upon me! At long last, my life has been rid of thesis, presentations, and papers (for a few weeks anyway)! And I can finally get back to writing! Huzzah!

Also… DESTIEL HUG FTW! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOUR SEASONS FOR THAT AND IT FINALLY HAPPENED! YEEEEAAAH! – Ahem, and now for the story…

* * *

_I was waiting_

_For the day you'd come around._

_I was chasing,_

_And nothing was all I found._

_From the moment you came into my life,_

_You showed me what's right. _

_._

_ Feels Like Tonight – Daughtry_

* * *

Under a great pine tree covered in snow, Michael was remotely viewing the situation in Heaven. The other fledglings who had yet to receive their titles were becoming restless and were beginning to cause a commotion. Some of the custodial angels were doing everything in their ability to placate them, yet it was proving to be a losing battle.

Perhaps Michael should have ordered someone to temporarily replace him in his absence before leaving. Then again, there was not anyone around who had the same authoritative power and consideration as he did. The angel who was closest to his position was Raphael, albeit everyone knew that things would end disastrously if he was in charge of the fledglings.

He supposed that this course of action was the best. After all, the fledglings could use this time to exercise patience and humility (and maybe they would tire themselves out when Michael returned). The length of their waiting period, of course, depended entirely on Castiel's progress.

Right now, he was trying to find out if he was any good at guiding animals in their migration patterns. It so happened that the nearest group of animals were deer, and Castiel was attempting to change their winter route so that they would not have to pass by a bunch of wolf dens. So far, Castiel was failing miserably, and if he had a physical body at this moment, he would have been trampled a dozen times already.

After a few hours, the deer managed to alter their direction, for a few degrees. Castiel trudged his way back to Michael with his wings dragging behind him in pure defeat.

"It's alright, Castiel. We'll find another task for you later. Take this time to reflect." said Michael. To be honest, he was growing weary with his time with this fledgling. No one had to take this long in discovering their titles, no one had to try so many things before.

Michael watched as his brother was suddenly surrounded by squirrels, and he soon learned that Castiel was endeavoring to manipulate the migration pattern of smaller animals this time. Castiel made a gesture – a command to get the squirrels to go to the right –and they all ignored him. Castiel concentrated harder; two of the squirrels started grooming while one curled up to sleep. Frustrated, Castiel plopped to the snowy ground and sat, his wings covering him.

In spite of the lack of development, Michael had to admit that Castiel was determined and diligent. Most fledglings would have given up by now and might even be bawling at their incapacity. At least Castiel refused to give up and was more than willing to take up a new challenge.

Out of curiosity, Michael tracked, in his mind's eye, where the deer currently were. Apparently, the slight change in degrees had a huge overall impact as there was a good distance between the deer and the wolf territory. The deer were now heading for a clearing where a group of humans were located. Michael saw that the humans were cold; a few of the incoming deer could help fix that problem with their may not have done the deer much of a favor, but the humans would surely be thankful of their slight change in route.

"Michael?" Castiel spoke up.

Michael snapped out of his remote viewing and looked at Castiel. "Yes, brother?"

"Why do we have to serve humans?" asked Castiel.

It was an innocent question, born out of the random process of thought from the mind of someone young, who simply wanted to know why. It held no malice or subtext; it was genuine curiosity from a being who was pure of heart.

And yet… the words were eerily familiar. Michael remembered another angel use similar words, eons ago. Those words had been directed at him as well, but during that time, there was anger and the sense of betrayal in the air.

"_Why must we serve them?_"

Castiel was staring at Michael, clearly waiting for his answer. His wide blue eyes were almost the same hue as Lucifer's, and that realization made Michael turn his gaze from him.

"Because it is our Father's will."he replied, and that was the same answer he gave back then. "And according to His will, we have to make sure they live a righteous life, as much as possible." he added.

"What if He didn't tell us to? Would we still care about the humans?" Castiel went on.

Michael could still trace Lucifer's every movement precisely as he paced in front of him.

"_Do you really believe that _this _is God's overall purpose for us? Is it His will for our kind to be degraded like this? That we have to cater to the petty needs of these walking, sickeningly flawed mounds of clay?_"

"It's not in our place to question His decisions. Everything is as He wanted it to be." said Michael.

Castiel leaned against the tree and studied a tiny mound of snow. "It's… strange. One man's life is barely a fraction of our existence. Angels have such great power, whereas humans are so vulnerable to… everything." he commented.

"_Michael, I'm telling you to open your eyes because you seem to fail in noticing how broken and weak they are, even from the moment they take their first breath. We are angels! We were created long before them, we hold the power of the cosmos in our grasps, and _we_ were the first to bring honor and glory to the Father. How can humanity compete with that? How are they suddenly more significant that _we _have to kneel to _them_?_"

Lucifer's light had shot all over the place, his once brilliant shine had transformed into a demented source of radiance. As if for the first time, Michael saw how much brighter Castiel was compared to the others, and he found himself becoming tense.

"Sometimes, I wonder if this is really how it's supposed to be."said Castiel.

"_This isn't right. We deserve more – _much _more – than this._"

Michael wished he would stop talking. He wished it would just stop.

"What do you think?" asked Castiel.

"_Michael, say something!_"

Michael stood up so abruptly that his movement caused the leaves of the trees within a hundred meters to quiver. "We should get moving." he said curtly, not sparing a glance at the fledgling beside him.

Fearing he upset him in some way, Castiel was about to say something but Michael interrupted, "You're bordering on blasphemy, Castiel. Be grateful that I allowed no punishment to befall you."

Castiel's wings ruffled in shock. "Sir, I – " he began anxiously.

"That's enough." said Michael firmly.

They flew to another destination.

O_x

Ever since their conversation under the pine tree, Michael had been feeling uneasy around Castiel, which was probably because, now, he cannot stop comparing the fledgling to Lucifer. The way he thought and the way he behaved practically mirrored Lucifer's own personality if Michael scrutinized him enough, and there was no other angel who knew Lucifer better than he did.

Before God created humanity, Lucifer had been benevolent and loyal. He loved Earth and he believed in the potential of whatever creation their Father brought into existence. He wanted to learn every detail about what God made – how the trees fed on sunlight, when the animals got tired enough to sleep, what colors the sky could change to – and in a way, he developed a thirst for knowledge, paralleled by Castiel's seemingly insatiable curiosity.

Lucifer served and was devoted to God with every ounce of his being, albeit he did not follow His every word with blind obedience. There were times when he would question, or at the very least voice out his concerns. The more he knew, the more he wanted to find out more, and at first, it was nothing more than harmless inquisitiveness.

Then he began thinking…inventively; he began stretching possibility after possibility that went beyond what was needed by Heaven. Lucifer had started to push limits bit by bit and expected changes to occur, changes according to his intentions. Essentially, he wanted things to be more than what they simply were because of the available opportunities each of them presented.

Most of all, Lucifer loved his family. He loved them so much that he refused to have their radiance overshadowed. He loved them so much that he would not allow the humans to get the better of angels. It was that same love that got him cast out.

Michael quickly peered at Castiel's Grace and saw that its light shone with a great deal of love for his siblings. Even though some of them made fun of him or gave him a hard time, his love for them all was as unwavering and pure as a newborn sun. Michael prayed that that intensity will not flare up and horribly consume him as it did to Lucifer.

Below them appeared a small town in the middle of a dense forest, and since it was nearing nighttime, the town looked as if it was drifting atop dark, rustling waters.

"We shall try here." Michael told Castiel.

They landed on a hill by the town's outer limits so that they can still survey the inhabitants without going inside. There were children playing in the town square, men in the stables tending to their horses, a cat having a good stretch after a long nap, a mother and father trying to teach their baby daughter how to walk with little success…

"What is my task, sir?" asked Castiel.

Michael eyed the sky as sunlight drained out of it, much like how blood would escape from a dying man's face. "Do you know what a wendigo is?" he inquired seriously.

The hesitation from Castiel sufficed for an answer. "Fairly, sir." he replied.

"Apparently, this town is at the mercy of one." said Michael, a fact which he discovered the moment the town entered his vision. There was a corruption in the area, and his senses registered the stench of brutal death.

The second the light disappeared from the sky, the aura of peace and happiness in the town ebbed immediately. Most of the residents ran to their homes, and the collective sounds of doors being locked and windows being barred echoed and reached the hearing of both angels. Those who were a tad braver sealed the gates that led to the town and checked the condition of the spikes poking on top of the wall that separated them from the forest. It was a crude and rather ineffective defensive strategy, but it would help in slowing down the creature hunting the people down one by one.

Michael motioned for them to move closer, and they did until they were standing in front of one of the town's gates. Evening was upon the land and the darkness was almost cloying.

"Do I have to fight it?" asked Castiel, sounding nervous.

"In this place, your job is to protect the lives within those walls." said Michael.

Castiel had been staring at the fortified wall when Michael spoke. When he heard what he had to do, he turned around to face Michael so rapidly that he virtually fell over. "Then I have to kill the creature?" he asked incredulously.

After a fleeting consultation with fate, Michael assessed that tonight was not the night the monster will perish. Like with all things in creation, it had a role to play in the grand scheme of things, and it was not yet fulfilled. "No, brother. It seems that this particular wendigo still has a part to play in the future. It _will _die, but not at your hands. Worry not about its death." he said.

There was a faint noise behind them, like leaves caught in a breeze… except there was no such breeze tonight.

"It's approaching. Keep it away from the town." said Michael.

Michael backed off to provide Castiel a decent amount of space to do whatever he must to fend off the monster. The wendigo was fast, but Michael believed that Castiel's speed would be more than a match for it.

Sure enough, the wendigo started its assault, coming from the east, and Castiel blocked its path with a swift explosion of flames. Though momentarily stunned, the wendigo tried again and approached the northeast side of the town. Castiel deterred it with another short-lived explosion. The wendigo moved toward the western part of the wall, but Castiel stopped it before it reached the gate.

This went on for several minutes; however, the wendigo eventually managed to learn and grew more cunning and adept in its maneuvers. Castiel, meanwhile, was beginning to feel the first symptoms of fatigue, and by now even he should realize that he ought to change his tactics.

Then, just after Castiel deflected another of the wendigo's persistent attacks, he flew up to the walls and ignited every spike that was attached on top – all three thousand five hundred twenty-six of them. Castiel did not simply light one spike and let the fire spread to rest of its accord; that would take a far longer time. Rather, he focused on lighting all of the spikes at the same time, and with their number and distance, that had to take a lot of energy out of him.

"Castiel, are you sure you can control all of this?" asked Michael who, throughout the entire time, remained in the canopies and out of the way. If a full-grown angel was performing this act, he would not doubt their ability. But Castiel was a fledgling, and his powers were not as developed.

Castiel did not say anything, primarily because his concentration was being exerted on maintaining the fire on the spikes, not allowing a single one to flicker out even for a second. Nonetheless, this tactic appeared to be working since the wendigo was not getting within twenty feet of the town's proximity. If Castiel could hold out a while longer, the wendigo might actually head back to where it came from.

Unfortunately, Castiel did not seem to have enough strength to let all the spikes burn for another minute. He faltered and a couple of spikes were on the verge of going out, although he prevented them from doing so in the nick of time by putting a bit more effort into what he was doing. Despite his intentions to keep the wendigo at bay, he ended up exerting a little too much effort and some of the spikes' flames expanded and got caught onto the roofs of houses.

From the roofs, the fire spread to the barns, to the poles that supported drying clothes, to the wagons that held trading goods, to the stalls that would sell fruits and vegetables in the morning. Within three minutes, the town was completely awake and screaming in terror.

Castiel stared at his work in alarm. "Oh, no."

Houses and other structures were beginning to go up in flames and crumble into ashes. People were confused and wailing as they watched everything they possessed burn away. A number of them attempted putting out the fire by dumping buckets of water on the site, though now the fire had reached the stage wherein it was nearly impossible to tame, so their noble efforts were proving to be a lost cause.

As if things could not worsen, a section of the gate was destroyed by the flames, which allowed the wendigo an entrance into the town. Clearly, it had mustered enough courage (or stupidity, more likely) to face the heat simply for the sake of human meat.

Michael did not know whose stupidity was worse: the wendigo's or Castiel's as he flew in headlong after the beast.

"Castiel?" he called out. The only response he heard was the mad crackling of fire.

"_Castiel_!" Michael tried again. Nothing.

Castiel was becoming more and more disobedient, and that angered Michael more than anything. If he cannot follow the orders of an archangel, then what hope did he have of being able to follow a lower-ranked angel, or anyone else for that matter? Michael feared that this tiny spark of rebellion would escalate into something as unruly as the flames before him.

He waited for any changes in the town, such as the fire weakening or becoming stronger, or the air suddenly being filled with more screams that would indicate the wendigo's kill. But everything remained somewhat constant.

If he wanted to, Michael can extinguish every flame in the town in less than a heartbeat. However, he will not, because that would stir a bigger, more long-lasting commotion. He did not want the humans to expect their problems to go away just like that; he did not want them to believe that divine power would conveniently make their lives better. Though the fire was not technically their fault, they needed to rely on their own abilities to form a solution so that they can learn and grow. That was what God wanted.

After a few more moments of waiting, Michael went in the town as well. He wanted to check on the people and how they were faring against the fire –a lot of them had suffered from at least one kind of injury at this point, but since they were already evacuating at a rather swift pace, there was no real need for him to help them or interfere in any other matter. While the safety of the humans concerned him, his main priority was to find Castiel and hope that he had not gotten himself into more trouble.

Michael did a quick scan of the town and was surprised to discover that he was actually experiencing difficulties in pinpointing his brother. He tried a second time, yet it was like there was something blocking him, a barrier of some sort. The idea alone disconcerted him, albeit he pushed it aside because he had a responsibility to fulfill, and he absolutely refused to return to Heaven with a missing fledgling.

He ended up searching the town the old-fashioned way, which was going through house after house until he located his brother. It was a tad humiliating since he, of all the angels, had to make do with such a time-consuming method. For humans, his search throughout the entire town would be thirty times faster than a blink of an eye, but for the standards of angels that would be agonizingly slow.

For some odd reason, Michael managed to find the wendigo first before Castiel. It got itself trapped under the weight of a big roof that collapsed from the fire and was presently scrambling out of its tiny wedge with hardly any progress. It was scratching and biting at the beams on top of it but it kept cowering down when the flames ventured too close to its face. Michael decided to leave the monster where it was and continued his search for Castiel.

It was not until he got to the two hundred eleventh house did he come across the fledgling. And soon he registered just as instantly why Castiel's signature was stifled: he was trapped in a ring of holy fire.

The house they were in once belonged to the town's herbalist, so the necessary ingredients for creating holy oil were present. What must have been an organized collection of materials laid out in meticulously categorized jars and boxes was obliterated when the fire snuck its way inside and burned the shelves to nothing. Everything had fallen to the floor, though a few items mixed together and produced the special oil, which ultimately attracted the flames and trapped Castiel. The chance of that occurring was one in a billion, but it was by no means impossible.

Castiel frantically looked up from where he was backing away from the holy fire when he noticed Michael come in. Terror was evident in his eyes and he was desperate to escape his prison, especially since the space within the ring was vanishing fast.

"Michael!" Castiel cried out. He unwittingly inched forward and, just before he brushed against the flames, remembered that he cannot cross them. He retreated again and stared at Michael pleadingly.

Despite Michael's prior intention of ensuring Castiel's welfare, he found himself having second thoughts about the fledgling. This was how Lucifer had been before he betrayed the will of God: innocent yet ambitious, unique yet did not conform to the general mindset of Heaven, empathetic yet can often be overly-sensitive. It was like Castiel was the infant pup who, at the moment, was weak and soft while Lucifer was the full-grown wolf that learned to harden its claws and sharpen its teeth. Pups will grow up, and Castiel had already shown signs of rebellion, which can possibly develop over the centuries.

"Michael," implored Castiel, and it came out as a frightened whisper. The fire was closing in on him and soon he would not have space to move. Soon, the fire will kill him.

Nevertheless, Michael continued to look on at his brother in a similar way a judge would measure up a person thrown in front of him. Suddenly, Castiel's unusual brightness did not appeal to him anymore since it was reminiscent of Lucifer's own glorious light. What if Castiel would bring on something horrible in the future – perhaps not another war between the angels, but something else equally or more dire?

The fire in the town was spreading more rapidly. If the flames from the haphazardly created ring will not reach Castiel within the minute, then he would most likely suffer from what was above him instead. Overhead, near the ceiling, was a shelf that held the same properties for holy oil, and it was being consumed by the fire. If the shelf gave way, the ingredients would plummet and land on Castiel. If the ingredients – or the oil, for that matter – hit the fledgling, the flames would cling to him and roast him alive.

Castiel was weeping now, extremely bewildered why Michael was not doing anything to save him and beyond scared that he might die, painfully.

Being the eldest of all the angels, Michael had learned to deal with his siblings in every manner, and that included eliminating a number of them when necessary. It was something he did not, never at all, wanted to do in his existence, but sometimes he had to so he can get rid of the taints in Heaven, to avoid the rotten apples from infecting the pure ones. This was particularly prevalent during the war, not just on the battlefields but also within his own ranks when he suspected a change in loyalty from one of his soldiers.

Should he let the fire claim Castiel, he would be eradicating the likelihood of him growing up to do anything unfavorable; he would be cutting off a stem before it grew any thorns. But then… it would be as if he condemned a soul to Hell without the person committing a single sin yet. And the one thing that Michael loathed more than any other was killing his family.

The shelf broke. The ingredients fell.

Michael produced a hasty, miniature earthquake that made a crack in the ground where the wonky ring of holy fire was, effectively breaking it. He scooped Castiel into his arms and flew them out of the house before the ingredients even connected with the floor.

"I got you. It's alright. I got you, everything will be alright." Michael cooed as his brother clung to him tightly, luminous tears still falling from his eyes.

O_x

Dawn came, and Michael and Castiel were recuperating near a field where the survivors of the burnt town sought refuge for the night. As the people consoled and took care of one another, Michael did the same to his brother by tending to his wounds. Unlike the humans, Castiel did not suffer from any burns or broken bones, mainly because he had no physical body. Regardless, being kept in a ring of holy fire did an extent of damage to his Grace, so Michael had to replenish and mend it.

Angels did not sleep, although Michael put Castiel in a sort of stasis so that he can work a little faster. Besides, Castiel needed the rest, and Michael supposed that he owed him at least that after almost letting him die. Since they left the town, he had not stopped apologizing to God about nearly killing a sibling; the guilt would haunt him quite a while but he guessed that was what he deserved. He had grown too paranoid over the years, too distant from his own family that he was starting to become blind to the hope that they all carried.

As Michael remedied Castiel's Grace, he unintentionally glanced at the fledgling's most recent memories, and he was surprised to discover that Castiel had given the humans a bit of a helping hand when the town had still been burning. Albeit he did not assist them directly, Castiel had performed other acts of hidden kindness, such as clearing a safe path to the exit for them, and even knocking over a house to pin down the wendigo. It warmed Michael's heart… if he had a real one.

Castiel stirred in Michael's hold, which prompted the latter to gently restrain the other.

"Don't move. I'm not done healing you yet." said Michael. If Raphael was the one doing this, Castiel would be healed by now. Treating injuries had never been Michael's strong point; inflicting them, however, was more familiar to him, and he had to wonder if that was still considered a good thing.

A comfortable, although weary, silence descended on the forest, as if the trees were also recovering from what happened in the town. A couple of people had woken up and were getting ready to start the day and their new lives.

"I'm sorry." said Castiel quietly. "I'm so sorry for everything. I can't do anything right."

Michael paused in his work as he detected severe grief in the fledgling's voice. "It's fine to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them." he said.

He shifted his hold on Castiel so that his brother was curled up on top of his Grace. It was significantly bigger than Castiel's form, but instead of making the light overwhelm him, Michael toned down the intensity of his Grace so that Castiel can be blanketed in the cozy warmth of an archangel's life force. "Do you want to hear a story?" Michael asked.

Castiel peered up at him, like a kitten having its interest piqued, and made a faint noise that implied his agreement.

Settling into a more laidback position, it came upon Michael that he had not done this in a long time, to drop the role of the general and simply be the big brother who wanted his siblings to know that they were loved.

"I know of an angel who, long ago, made a lot of mistakes." he began.

Employing the same physics in creating a rainbow, Michael acquired a bit of sunlight and moisture from the air to be able to draw with light. For his first character, he made use of the green light.

"Now, the reason he made so many mistakes was because he was very afraid." Michael went on.

"Of?" peeped Castiel.

Michael smirked and made the shape of the green light slightly more definite. "Frankly, of everything that can go wrong. Whenever he had to do something, he always feared for the worst. He always expected that he would mess up in one way or another, that everything would be his fault and all the other angels would be disappointed in him." he explained.

With the green light already floating in front of them, Michael created three more lights – a red one, an orange one, and a purple one – and molded the others in a style akin to what he applied to the first.

"He did a lot…" He animated the green light and made it seem like it was carrying a dangerously heavy load. The green light dropped everything and the other three lights appeared to mock it.

"…he did a little…" The green light was tinkering with something while the other three lights started circling it in an exuberant manner, as if they thought that whatever the green light was doing was silly. The green light became flustered and hid from them, far away.

"…but in the end, because of his constant fear of doing something wrong, he became nervous and unfocused, and so he failed." The green light zoomed around for a moment in a complicated series of loops and zigzags, then it faltered and crashed into an imaginary ground.

Castiel crept toward the green light in anticipation. "What happened to him? Did he ever get better?" he asked.

"Yes, he did. He soon realized that, in order to fix this, he had to stop pushing himself too hard. God created him in a certain way, but he kept trying to be more than that, and he simply couldn't be someone he was not." said Michael.

The green light got up from where it had fallen and flew to where the other lights were.

"He did not just cause damage, he was also hurting those around him. So that was when he decided to… let go. Not completely, but just enough. He stopped imagining worst case scenario after worst case scenario, and instead concentrated more on what was actually happening, what had to be done, who were going to be affected. Should something happen, then he will react to it. In the meantime, it's important to focus on what's ahead of you first." said Michael.

The green light rejoined the red, orange, and purple lights. All four came together and united to bring forth a big white light, which hovered in front of Castiel's face for a moment before vanishing like a mist.

Michael commenced stroking Castiel's wings in a soothing way; they were still rather downy, and it would be quite a while until his wings become totally mature. "The point is… I see that you're trying, that you're honestly doing your best and have no intention of causing harm." he told him sincerely. "However, I also noticed that you're being pushed too hard, and we're both to blame for that. So I want to say that I, too, need to apologize… for everything." he added.

This time, Castiel looked up at Michael and the expression he was wearing was a mixture of disbelief and compassion. Disbelief because an archangel – the highest of all archangels – had apologized to someone like him. It was simply inconceivable for an archangel to express humility for the sake of a fledgling, and for Castiel, it felt like such an honor, such a blessing, to be regarded this way. And compassion because, somehow, he understood; he heard the words that went unsaid and he loved his brother enough to grant him immediate forgiveness.

A shy yet tender smile lit up Castiel's face, and Michael found himself returning the gesture. All was well between them. Castiel appeared to have something on his mind, but his attention switched to the direction of the humans.

"Michael, look," he muttered happily.

Michael tracked where Castiel's vision was and his eyes landed on a family of three: a father, mother, and their infant daughter. It occurred to Michael that this was the same group of people he saw in the town before it burned down; the parents who were trying to teach their child how to walk. Even after their home and belongings turned to ashes, they still held onto the precious moments of their lives. This time, the child was taking her very first wobbly steps; her father was behind her and her mother was eagerly waiting for her with open arms.

"She's walking." commented Castiel.

After staggering a bit, the child finally closed the distance between her and her mother. Both parents embraced one another and cheered at the achievement of their daughter. Despite their homeless situation right now, these people still had much reason to celebrate life.

Michael noticed how pleased Castiel was at this development. "Do you like the humans?" he inquired.

"Yes, sir. Very much." answered Castiel.

"Why?"

Castiel watched the family for a few more seconds before he was able to gather the proper words. "It's just… despite their faults, they're still God's creations." he replied, not taking his eyes off them. "They try to be better every day of their lives, even though they just live for a short while. They still try; they want to make a difference, they hope." Castiel turned to face Michael. "They're fascinating." he concluded.

Upon hearing those words, Michael recognized the key difference between Lucifer and Castiel, and that was their opinion concerning humanity. Lucifer despised them, whereas Castiel was in awe of them. It was the sole factor that abolished Michael's fears once and for all, and he felt a great surge of relief wash over him.

"What if I tell you that I just discovered your title?" said Michael.

Castiel's eyes widened and he clambered off Michael in shock. "How? I haven't done anything right yet." he said.

"You've been doing something right this whole time."

Michael recalled the past trials that Castiel had gone through: the incident at the church brought laughter back to a bunch of men who had experienced nothing but sorrow over the last couple of months; for the second trial, saving the lizard might have saved the lives of the future settlers of that land; for the third trial, the rowdy children ought to cause less trouble by now; with the deer, they will provide warm coats for the humans who were endeavoring to survive in the cold wilderness; and lastly, with the town that had been devoured by flames, the former inhabitants will be able to value what was truly important in life, such as love and family. Castiel certainly made mistakes, but those mistakes bloomed into a more profound treasure.

"A lot can happen in a day. A new chapter of life can start, an adventure can fall into place, a tree can grow, a hard lesson can be learned, a bond can be formed and strengthened, a promise can be fulfilled – the possibilities are infinite. It may not always be what you had planned, but whatever happens will always be unique." explained Michael.

He leaned in closer to Castiel, as if to tell a secret. "A day is precious, because no matter how big or small something is, it is bound to happen and exist _one day_." he said. Michael paused and allowed himself to smile. "Would you like to be an angel of a day?" he asked.

Apparently, it was possible for Castiel to look more bewildered. "I don't…" His voice trailed off. In spite of his best efforts to conceal his emotions, Michael can see them flicker as openly as watching butterflies in a flower garden. Castiel was thrilled, perplexed, grateful, skeptical, as well as many other things, and the unexpected burst of emotions was beginning to overwhelm him.

"What day?" Castiel eventually asked, slowly on his way to accepting that this was actually, _finally_, happening.

"There are seven days in a week." stated Michael. "I sense that Thursday works best for you." he replied after mulling it over.

"Thursday?" repeated Castiel, his head tilting.

"The day of changes and travel… Thursday's child has far to go. I believe someone will make a poem in the future with those words." remarked Michael. He shook his head because he really had to stop giving bits of the future away. "'Far to go' because you will have to go through many obstacles, but the rewards will definitely be worth those challenges." he clarified.

The shock had yet to disappear from Castiel's expression, and now he was merely staring at Michael, dumbstruck, like he had yet to wrap his mind entirely around this reality. Michael chuckled and rose to his full height, which seemed to startle Castiel out of his trance.

He extended an open palm and bathed Castiel in a gently refreshing beam of iridescent light. "Congratulations… Castiel, Angel of Thursday. I hope you serve Heaven well." said Michael.

Like with their first encounter in Michael's chamber back in Heaven, Castiel was so stunned with what was going on that he nearly forgot to kneel and ceremonially show his respect and gratitude. "Th-Thank you, sir. I'm deeply honored." said Castiel, and the tremble in his voice betrayed the fact that he was barely able to repress the joy he was feeling.

Michael closed his palm and the light faded. "Arise, Castiel. You must prepare yourself for the work ahead of you." he said.

"What should I do?" asked Castiel a tad apprehensively.

"Whatever you believe you have to." replied Michael. Castiel would be in charge of his own courses of action from now on; there will be no one to tell him how to do his job as the Angel of Thursday because that would be his own field.

A large smile etched itself onto Castiel's features, which Michael returned with a thoughtful nod. In a wordless understanding, they both decided that it was time they went back to Heaven; besides, there were other fledglings who currently had no titles.

"Sir, you never told me the name of the angel in your story." Castiel piped up in midflight.

For a second, Michael considered not to divulge the information to him. "Do you want to know?" he queried.

"Yes, sir." responded Castiel.

Michael let out a short laugh and flew a little further ahead of him so neither of them would see the other angel's reaction. "Me." he said.

Even without glancing behind him, Michael knew that Castiel was more than surprised by the revelation. "Don't tell anyone. This is simply between us." added Michael. After all, he had a reputation to keep.

"You have my word, sir." said Castiel seriously.

Michael could not help but smirk. Not even an hour had passed and the Angel of Thursday had already promised him something. There would certainly be a bright future ahead of him.

Fin (for this mini-story).

* * *

_Again, thank you all so very much for making it this far. Just one more angel to go until this series ends, and I doubt you guys need any clues as to who the last story will feature._

_P.S. anyone here signed up for this year's GISHWHES? :D_


	25. To be an Angel by Lucifer

AN: This is it, guys! The last story for Notes Tied to Balloons!

* * *

_Welcome to the planet_

_Welcome to existence_

_Everyone's here_

_Everybody's watching you now_

_Everybody waits for you now_

_What happens next_

_._

_Dare You to Move ~ Switchfoot_

* * *

It was pleasantly warm in the Hatchery, like the whole chamber was tucked underneath a soft, thick layer of feathers. Technically, the place was not called the Hatchery, not officially, since there were no actual eggs to be hatched, yet the name was somewhat appropriate so no one bothered to change it.

The Hatchery was in a perpetual state of dawn, as if it was to symbolize the welcoming of something new, as if the reign of cold nothingness was coming to an end and the gradual heat was affectionately tugging at life to just be.

All across the chamber, thousands of dimly glowing orbs were scattered and lying patiently. Each orb held a new angel inside, waiting to be fully formed and released into Heaven. These were to be the last – or perhaps one of the last – generation of angels. Lucifer had been told that God might make one final batch after this, but the matter remained uncertain.

Looking at the orbs, Lucifer noted that it would be almost time, that Heaven would rejoice in the arrival of the newest angels. He had lately been monitoring the conditions of the orbs, and by his calculations, they would be bursting fairly soon.

At this point, Lucifer had already passed by every orb at least three had been moments when he attempted to decipher a few orbs, like if he studied the light and contours long enough he might be able to have an idea of what and how some of his siblings might turn out to be, such as their name, the structure of their Grace, and their wings. However, all the orbs appeared the same to him, no matter how hard he scrutinized them and no matter what angle he viewed them from. It was as if God designed their outer casing to be a blank slate, purely uninteresting and exactly like the rest, so that they can make their own unique marks,and that their individual traits will be revealed overtime, slowly but surely, in a manner similar to an artist's deliberately precise strokes that would eventually show something magnificent.

Nonetheless, Lucifer was excited. He was looking at Heaven's future guardians, God's latest masterpieces, the most recent additions to his family.

Then he felt it; a fissure no bigger than a grain of salt. Barely a second later, that tiny crack spread, spider-webbing all throughout the Hatchery until every orb seemed more brittle than eggshells made from dandelion seeds. If Lucifer required to breathe, he would be holding his breath right about now in fear of accidentally ruining the process happening before him.

What came next took place at such an incredibly great speed that it was more fleeting than the beat of a hummingbird's wings. But through Lucifer's eyes, he can perceive every detail as if the Hatchery had been plunged into an intricate slow motion.

From each orb, a tiny dot of light burst out and shot upward like a jet of fire eagerly and proudly erupting from the surface of the sun. Every dot shone in a different color and radiated in its own unique frequency of light; these were the angels in their purest, most basic form. The dots, for the most part, were featureless.

They had no wings yet since the whole of Heaven was lending its blessing to them, infusing them with the strength of floating and soaring. Their wings would become apparent as soon as they had harnessed enough energy, much like a baby animal being able to feed on solid food after it had bolstered itself from its mother's milk.

Their faces were also not visible as they had yet to adjust and develop in their new surroundings. They did not know what to expect, what they had to do, how they should act, so they remained blank for now. In due time, they will evolve, like how some creatures evolved on Earth to better suit their environment. The face – or oftentimes _faces_ – of an angel would be dependent on their personality and behavior, so that will be a very careful process.

What was more, their release into Heaven was silent; no roar of joy, no whoosh of purpose, no tinkling of little voices murmuring their first words. The spectacle occurred in absolute quiet, for the angels had no knowledge of sound yet; they had not heard anything during their first few moments of existence.

In spite of that fact, the brilliance of the Hatchery at this very instant rivaled that of the universe and all its vastly twinkling stars. For Lucifer, witnessing the creation of his siblings was far more grandiose than staring at the wonders of the galaxy, because unlike the stars and the planets, the lights here were _truly _alive.

His newest siblings rose higher and higher in an instinctive urge to remove themselves from the Hatchery, see Heaven, and accustom themselves to their home. They will fly along the ether of Heaven for a while, exploring and learning and growing, until they deem themselves ready to officially join their older siblings.

With pride swelling in his Grace, Lucifer watched as his brothers and sisters whizzed out of the Hatchery. He prayed they would serve God well and bring righteous honor to the cause.

He was about to depart when he noticed something at the corner of his vision. Lucifer turned and was surprised to see that there was a dot of light on the floor, struggling to get into the air. As he approached it, he realized that it was one of the newly-created angels, a sibling left behind by the rest. The dot of light was blue, although instead of being cool and shining like the reflection of the sky on a still ocean, it was pale and wavering.

Its light was flickering erratically, as if it had trouble keeping itself bright. It made no noise but it sent out waves of sorrow and fear at being alone. The blue light shifted to a certain angle, and Lucifer had to guess that it was looking up at where the rest of its kind was zooming in freedom.

Somewhat motivated, or distressed, the blue light tried to fly, yet all it ever managed to achieve was to shakily hover a short distance from the floor and then fall back down. This continued for a few times, and with every desperate attempt, Lucifer found himself pitying first moments of an angel's life should be a momentous, happy occasion; it should not be spent in frailty and despair.

The blue light gave a couple of more attempts, with each weaker and more pathetic than the last, until what little strength it had to begin with ran out. The blue light tilted itself upward as its siblings finally disappeared from view, and for a minute, the blue light became motionless, like it registered that it had been forgotten and was at a loss at what to do. It emitted more waves of distress, as if in an effort to call out to them, to come back so it would not be alone anymore, but its pleas went unnoticed by them.

Though now exhausted, the blue light endeavored to crawl, dragging itself across the floor with as much determination as a sick newborn catching up to the herd. It did not take long for it to deplete its energy and stop moving. Its glow sputtered alarmingly, nearly going out, and it would seem that the little thing was close to dying. Despite its feeble state, the blue light tried to call out one last time, still holding onto the hope that it would be heard. When no one returned, the blue light started to fade and become dimmer…

Without thinking, Lucifer snatched the blue light off the floor and held it near his Grace so that it may sustain itself from a fraction of his was going against a number of rules. Older angels should not interfere with their newly-created brothers and sisters on their first days;they needed to develop on their own without being influenced by others. Regardless, Lucifer cannot bring himself to simply watch as his sibling slowly perished in front of him.

The blue light was so small in Lucifer's hand that even a slight fold might crush he studied his sibling, Lucifer wondered why it had been brought into existence in such a miserable condition. In all his millennia of watching his family, this was the first time he had ever encountered a situation that involved a straggler. Was this blue light, in some obscure purpose or another,God's first fledgling death? Or was this blue light simply a late bloomer? For his sibling's sake, Lucifer hoped it was the latter.

With the blue light in his hand, Lucifer could feel it tremble since it was still reeling from an overwhelming amount of emotions:terror, confusion, sadness, anguish.

He thought about putting it back on the floor and leaving it; if it was God's will that this angel would die prematurely, then Lucifer had no right to contradict that. Besides, he had broken enough rules by simply approaching this newly-created sibling. As an archangel, he had to set an example to the other angels, teach them the value of following orders and –

Lucifer almost laughed. He was starting to sound like Michael.

Obviously, he was going to do the right thing, and the right thing just so happened to be breaking another rule.

He took off to his private chambers, carrying the blue light with him.

O_x

In the far reaches of the archangels' domain was Lucifer's territory, which glowed so brightly it was as if every inch of his abode had been constructed from a million stars clustered tightly together. And yet everything was dull in comparison to the Morningstar himself, who shone more intensely than any other light source God created. Here, light was under Lucifer's command, for no matter what form it manifested into, his sheer radiance cannot be matched.

Lucifer placed the blue light – whom he had nicknamed Blue, for the meantime – in a sort of nest that was assembled from the warmest, most tender rays of sunshine and the beautifully amusing glitter of fireflies. Thankfully, Blue had stopped flickering like it was about to go out. Nevertheless, Blue appeared a long way off from fine; its glow was weak and it no longer possessed the will to move, which worried Lucifer greatly.

He tried to carefully nudge it using his Grace, copying a tactic he had seen some animals do when their young was unresponsive. Lucifer did this for a few times until Blue's apparent fragility finally concerned him enough to stop provoking his new sibling too much, lest he accidentally damaged him… or her.

Afterward, Lucifer took the barest smidgeon of his Grace from his form and put it in the 'nest' in case Blue required energy, nourishment of some kind. But despite the fact that the bit of Grace was right next to it, Blue did not so much as shy away or twitch in surprise.

Anxiety filling him up, Lucifer plucked a feather from his wings and placed it in the 'nest' as well, in the chance that Blue might view the foreign object with curiosity and be interested to examine it. Again, Blue did not react.

To make matters worse, he heard the telltale wings of Gabriel as he approached Lucifer's chambers, unpronounced and without permission as always.

"Hey, Luci! I've been practicing that duplication thing and I think – " Gabriel stopped talking immediately when he registered that Lucifer was up to something.

Gabriel grinned impishly. "What'cha got there?" he asked, and every syllable implied that he wanted nothing more than to bother his older brother to the point where he would snap.

While Gabriel was by no means renowned for his rational thinking or extraordinary intelligence, Lucifer was well aware that his brother could pick out a message from the smallest details. The slightest movement might as well have been an entire narrative for him since God had imbued him with a keen sense of discernment – perhaps too keen.

However, Lucifer dared to step forward, thereby blocking Blue from Gabriel's sight but informing him anyway that he was concealing something. Knowing Gabriel's brash personality, it was for the best that he knew he was being kept away rather than having him wreck the whole place because he wanted to find out what was going on. At least with this tactic, Gabriel might be a bit more cautious, and for the sake of the weak sibling under Lucifer's protection, he _better _be cautious.

"None of your business, Gabriel." said Lucifer.

The words came out as a threat, yet to Gabriel it sounded like an invitation. He snickered and zoomed forward, right at Lucifer, seemingly with the intention to knock him over.

Lucifer fired a might blast of energy at him, and if he had been aiming at anyone lower than the rank of an archangel, they would surely be immensely wounded, or even killed. For Gabriel, the most severe effect on him would be a very, very painful stun that should immobilize him for a few Earth hours, maybe a complete Earth day if Raphael was getting annoyed by him again.

Quicker than a bolt of lightning, Gabriel dodged the first blast quite easily. Lucifer hurled another blast at him, then another, and another, and another… yet his brother proved too elusive to hit. Gabriel made sharp turns as he flew sideways, rose in complex circles only to dive back down when least expected, zigzagged so rapidly that he would be a blur to a common angel's eyes. And all throughout the chase, Gabriel's mischievous laughter was there to taunt him.

Despite the chaos, Lucifer refused to leave his spot. If he did, Gabriel might be able to snatch Blue away and do God-knows-what with it.

"I'm not leaving 'til you tell me what you're hiding!" said Gabriel. He was flying in a complex, haphazard spiral and not a single one of Lucifer's blasts had even grazed the edges of his wings. Of course, Lucifer had to hold back somewhat; he had no wish to frighten the sibling he was guarding. He was by no means getting sloppy with his aim.

"If you don't get out right now – " Lucifer did not manage to finish his sentence as Gabriel unexpectedly rushed up at him, inciting such a forceful gust of wind that got his wings in a ruffle. It caused him to be distracted for a split-second, but that was enough for Gabriel to get right in front of him. Acting quickly, Lucifer projected a huge globe of energy and sent it at Gabriel.

The globe of energy passed through him and the form of his brother wavered, before eventually disappearing with a wink.

He _did _mention he had been practicing his duplication trick.

Lucifer wanted to kick himself. Then punch Gabriel so hard that he would cause a tear in the fabric of this dimension.

Just as expected, when Lucifer had recovered, Gabriel – the real one – had reached Blue's 'nest.' "Ooohh, Michael's gonna be _so_ pissed when he finds out you're keeping a newborn here." he said, grinning in delight at the prospect of Michael yelling at Lucifer with the force of a supernova.

"Don't you dare!" Lucifer made a move to grab Gabriel but his brother whooshed out of his reach, taking the 'nest' with Blue in it with him.

"Were you actually jealous of all the animals getting busy on Earth?" he mocked.

Hurling more energy blasts at Gabriel was not an option since he had Blue in such close proximity. The sole course of action Lucifer had was to lunge at him, which resulted in a very awkward, very terrifying chase. It was terrifying because the velocity they were both exerting showed just how much power they can casually discharge. And it was awkward, even degrading, because two archangels – Heaven's most admirable warriors and God's fiercest creations – were basically engaged in a game of catch.

"I've always said you've got feminine tendencies, but now you're really _such a girl_!" Gabriel teased.

Lucifer stretched toward Gabriel; Gabriel plunged downward and navigated his way near the floor like a deranged tuna. Lucifer swerved to the right and descended, planning to collide; Gabriel laughed and darted out of Lucifer's range just barely in the nick of time. He bounced the 'nest' from one hand to another while flying as if he was holding nothing more than a play thing. Lucifer swooped down on him but Gabriel rolled elegantly away and got more altitude in between them.

His younger brother cackled in amusement as he flew farther. "Is Mommy Luci getting slow in her age? Aww, did Mommy Luci want to have her own bundle of – ?"

All of a sudden, with his attention fixed on what was behind him, he crashed into Lucifer, and as the 'nest' slipped away from him upon impact, Gabriel realized that Lucifer had tricked him using the illusion he had invented. Apparently, a fake-Lucifer had been tailing him for quite some time, herding him toward a trap.

Lucifer smirked as he caught the 'nest' and watched Gabriel crumble before him, moaning and coming up with what he called 'curse words.' The fake-Lucifer vanished just as when the real Lucifer crouched down to Gabriel's level.

"Am I interrupting family-bonding time?" he said, cracking a smile despite the blow he had obtained.

"If you ever mention this to Michael, I am trapping you under a burning sea of ice." threatened Lucifer as he hid Blue in the safety of his wings.

Gabriel's eyes widened and his posture became rigid. "There's no such thing!" he exclaimed.

"Father recently created a planet composed of seventy-eight burning seas." said Lucifer.

For a while, Gabriel stared Lucifer down, as if he could bring his brother's words to light and prove them to be a huge chunk of lies. Unfortunately for him, Lucifer showed no signs of cracking; in fact, he stared back at him with a look of pure, smug honesty.

Gabriel slumped in defeat and acceptance. "So… what's the deal?" he asked, gesturing at Lucifer's back where Blue was.

"The little one is having a tough time adjusting to life." Lucifer slowly replied, considering his words prudently.

"Sucks." muttered Gabriel. Then, he perked up. "It got a name yet?"

There was a second wherein Lucifer wanted to say 'Blue,' but he knew Gabriel would either laugh at him or judge him severely at the ridiculous simplicity of it (and he would certainly use that to annoy and tease him for the next decade or two) so he opted to say, "It's still not communicating."

In truth, angels named themselves, or at least the name God had given them was imprinted deep within their Grace. In order to access their name, a newly-created angel, like Blue, had to be conscious enough to grasp that it needed to form a sense of identity, conscious enough to understand that it was alive and it had to think. They would have to, literally and metaphorically, look inside themselves to learn who they were supposed to be. For Blue, that potential still seemed unlikely.

"Well, in case it can't come up with anything, let's go with Blinky McSparky-Doodle!" said Gabriel cheerfully.

Lucifer shot him an exasperated glare.

"What? I don't see _you _coming up with anything." reacted Gabriel.

"This is our brother, or sister; not a pet." reasoned Lucifer, and he wrapped his wings around Blue a little more as if that can shield it from Gabriel's misguided intentions.

"You ever considered that I might actually _want _a brother or sister named Blinky McSparky-Doodle?" commented Gabriel.

Sometimes Lucifer wondered why God had made Gabriel an _archangel _in the first place. "You are a horrible example of an older brother." he said.

"I'd make an awesome big brother!" Gabriel defended, wings flaring up in an attempt to make himself appear more remarkable.

"Blinky McSparky-Doodle is not only blasphemous, it's also guaranteed to doom him, or her, to eternal shame. Plus, he, or she, will hate you until the end of time." said Lucifer.

"What? I care about individuality! I think Dad pretty much used up all the names that end in _–el_, and if I ha– "

"Don't you have any duties to perform?" Lucifer cut in.

Gabriel was silent for a moment. "…no."

"Gabriel,"

"Aw, come on! Playing secretary to Dad is _so boring_!" he whined.

Lucifer got up and towered over his little brother. "You either flap out of here or I'm blasting you out… again." he said.

Groaning and unnecessarily dragging his wings on the floor, Gabriel lethargically exited Lucifer's chamber. "You're an ass." he grumbled.

"I love you, too." said Lucifer.

Before Gabriel fully ventured outside, Lucifer called after him, "Oh and remember, if you ever tell anyone about this, especially Michael, I am dunking you in the burning sea of ice, all seventy-eight of them!"

Gabriel forcefully turned around, his expression a mixture of outrage and incredulity. "Sheesh. Motherhood is making you cranky." he said.

Lucifer retaliated by sending a blast of energy at him, which Gabriel avoided.

"Ha! Missed!" he proclaimed.

Another energy blast. This time, it hit its target squarely on his face and propelled him a significant distance.

With Gabriel no longer in his chambers (but letting a stream of garbled obscenities spill from his mouth in frustration outside), Lucifer chuckled and finally allowed himself to relax. He took Blue out of the cover of his wings and was surprised to see that Blue's light was pulsating like a heartbeat. This was not like before, when Blue's light was dangerously flickering out; here, Blue was somewhat more vigorous, like it was motivated to live again.

What happened to cause Blue to act this way, not that Lucifer was complaining. He doubted that it was due to his wings since he had not felt Blue sip away the tiniest fraction of his power. He also doubted that Blue had gotten some rest while inside the 'nest' because Gabriel had tossed it around a number of times during the previous chase. No one could have possibly been well-rested after that.

Was it because of Gabriel, or his upbeat personality? Was it because he and Gabriel fought, made fun of one another, and had a slightly senseless conversation, which turned out to be the first words and sentences Blue had ever heard in its existence?

Or was it because Blue had been exposed to a slice of what brotherhood was like, what being a sibling and having a sibling was like?

Lucifer fondly studied Blue and became convinced that that had to be the answer.

Perhaps it was time to show his sibling what being an angel was like.

TBC

* * *

_I dunno, I miss Gabriel so I had to include him here before this series ends. *hugs Gabriel*_

_Once again, thank you for reading!_


	26. 2nd part

AN: Happy New Year, everyone! Can't wait for the awesome things to come!

* * *

_From the day we arrive on the planet_

_And, blinking, step into the sun_

_There's more to see than can ever be seen_

_More to do than can ever be done_

_._

_Circle of Life ~ The Lion King_

* * *

The light of his newly-created sibling was not getting any brighter.

Lucifer had taken Blue to all the places in Heaven where he thought would be interesting to a creature as young as the one he was cradling. He brought Blue to the Prism Brooks, which was a living rainbow that gave birth to every color that shall ever be known in creation. He took Blue to the Silver Archives, a place which recorded all the life forms that had ever been conceived by God, and with each of them crafted out of liquid, three-dimensional silver. He took his sibling to the Hall of Hushed Crystals, a location where immense crystal shards grew and offered angels a site to help them clear their minds and reflect. Lucifer even brought them to the doors that led into God's throne room, in the hope that the residual presence of their Father would be enough to get a reaction from Blue.

Throughout that time, there had been no change in Blue. For now, Lucifer was just thankful that his sibling's condition was not deteriorating again; its light was weak but steady, its manifestation was still a bit too frail but Blue clung onto life.

As Lucifer continued to scour Heaven for its more fascinating areas, he began stroking Blue while it was settled within his hand. He had forgotten the reason behind the gesture. Was he doing this to console his sibling, to rouse it from its unresponsiveness? Or was he doing this to reassure himself, that he might defy the odds and keep Blue from fading away?

Then, for an instant, he felt the blue light shine a tad brighter.

Lucifer stopped and looked down. The glow Blue was currently emitting was the same, and it still was not moving in the slightest. Yet Lucifer was sure that he had not been mistaken; as the _Lightbringer_, he should know, and Blue had definitely glimmered in excitement.

He studied their surroundings and saw that the only remarkable object in sight was a lonely little gateway made out of wood and flowering vines: the passage to Earth. God had recently created it, so just a handful of angels were permitted to pass through that threshold, primarily because Heaven needed to be constructed properly first, which required inhabitants populating and shaping it. In time, the gateway will be obliterated and every angel would be given unlimited access to their Father's latest kingdom.

Lucifer flew back until they were directly in front of the gateway, wanting to check if this was what truly got Blue interested. He looked down once more and was rather surprised to find his sibling's light had become brighter, if only for a fraction. The blue glow beat faintly like the pulse of a creature getting stronger with every labored breath.

This was odd. Why would a barely-formed fledgling suddenly find the Earth appealing? Admittedly, Earth was a grand creation; however, an angel preferring Earth over Heaven had never been encountered… until now. Except for Michael, Lucifer was older than all of his brothers and sisters, and he had observed that every new fledgling always explored and learned about Heaven before even acknowledging the Earth. This made Blue an absolute rarity.

Staring at his tiny sibling, Lucifer knew that he would have to choose between two options: stay in Heaven and try to find something else that will elicit a reaction from Blue, which would keep it in a protected, stable environment. Or go through the gateway, risk the safety of an already vulnerable fledgling, and probably break a couple of more rules along the way, all for the sake of a dying sibling's curiosity.

Lucifer practically blew the doors to Earth apart as he left Heaven. He wondered why he even hesitated in the first place.

O_x

Eden was beautiful. There was simply no other way to put it. The air was alive with the scent of flowers blooming in the meadows that stretched as far as the horizon, fruits that were so succulently ripe that the trees and vines they hung from seemed generous and proud to offer them to the world, and the sweet melody of birdsong that was similar to the simplified tune of a choir of angels.

The grass was lush and soft enough to tempt even the angels to lie down and abandon their duties for a moment. Animals skittered, ran, leapt, crawled, and soared throughout the garden with vibrant energy, breathing air into their lungs, which was amazing to behold. The lakes and rivers glittered under a magnificently blue sky, and the sun bathed the land in a kind of warmth that made every creature thankful to be in existence.

Lucifer smiled as he remembered why the Earth was such a glorious place; perhaps Eden's splendor will inspire Blue to embrace the possibilities of life. He held his sibling up close and discovered that its light was much brighter than it had ever been in Heaven. There was definite improvement, yet its radiance remained far too dim for Lucifer's liking.

"Would you like to fly, little one?" Lucifer whispered into his hand. "Fly? Take to the air and go wherever you want?"

He was not expecting much of a response, or anything honestly, but Blue gave a twitch, a twitch that, if examined very meticulously, resembled a feeble turn toward Lucifer. Blue was actually listening to him; more importantly, Blue wanted to fly.

"Go on. Get up." encouraged Lucifer. He raised his hand higher so that Blue would see more of the vast, open skies.

He felt Blue twitch a bit more, as if uneasy or frightened that it had to leave Lucifer and figure out for itself what had to be done next.

"Just fly."

There was a brief, tiny tremble from his hand. Then, after a second, Blue was shakily fluttering away, which prompted Lucifer to grin in triumphant relief. The flight was ungraceful and erratic, although Lucifer could excuse that because at least his sibling was finally progressing.

Unfortunately, his elation lasted roughly three seconds because, all of a sudden, Blue wavered and dropped out of the air. Lucifer was quick enough to catch his sibling before it hit the ground. He held Blue for quite a while, muttering soft nonsense into his hand and wrapping the terrified fledgling in a thin layer of his Grace.

"It's alright, it's alright. Calm down. You're safe. I got you, you're alright." murmured Lucifer.

Blue's light was flickering again, like it was quivering in pure horror of what had occurred, like it was crying because of how beyond scared it was. Blue was not as bright anymore either; its radiance appeared, once more, on the verge of being extinguished.

As Lucifer sat down on the grassy field, he warmed Blue with his Grace in an effort to comfort it. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all. Blue was dangerously fragile, and the mere act of hovering a few inches was a seemingly impossible challenge. Fledglings were not even supposed to venture out of Heaven, most especially the newly-created ones. Like chicks in a nest, they were not prepared to face the world, they were not equipped to adjust readily to a place that was not home.

A breeze entered the field and a neighboring collection of dandelions had their seeds blown to the canopies. Consequentially, a thought wandered into Lucifer's mind and he carefully revealed Blue to the peaceful scene in front of them.

"You're alive." he stated quietly. "You're alive and some day you will grow up to be a brilliant angel. You are a marvel of creation, never forget that."

Blue's irregular flickering slowed down.

"With conscious life comes the power and blessing of will. Do you know what 'will' means?" asked Lucifer.

In a sort of response, Blue stopped panicking and shivering.

"It means the drive to do something. The desire for things to happen; the determination to bring change and miracles." Lucifer explained. A dandelion seed drifted by Blue, and it was both amusing and disheartening to see that Blue was the smaller of the two. "And as an angel, you can do so many amazing things. You can shape the mountains, shine brighter than the stars, move at incredible speeds, connect to every form of life and know its story, watch the most intricate details reveal themselves to you…"

Lucifer had to put a halt to his words when he became aware that he was leaving out a very important bit of information. "But the will of an angel is not without restrictions. Our will isn't exercised out of freedom, not entirely. Though our power is immeasurable, we have to abide by the rules designed specifically for us by the Father. We are able to carry out the greatest and most extraordinary of deeds, however we must do so while following the path set out for us." he clarified. He caught a hint of sorrow in his voice but Blue was oblivious to it.

"I pray you may have fantastic accomplishments in the future." said Lucifer, putting on a more hopeful impression.

To his astonishment, Blue moved. It was not the usual twitch or a trivial shift to one side; Blue's form actually _flexed_ and _stretched_. In that instant, the blue spark he held had the motivation to move again, to explore and try out its potential, to live and _do something_.

The moment lasted for barely a heartbeat and Blue was immobile once more. Lucifer thought that that would be the end of it, albeit a honeybee flew by and captured his sibling's attention. Blue leaned toward the direction the bee went, stopping when it reached the edge of Lucifer's hand. For some reason, Blue considered the insect to be fascinating, so much that Blue half-fluttered, half-jumped off Lucifer's hand to pursue it.

There was one worrying second when Blue disappeared from view, since the fledgling was so small that even a couple of blades of grass were enough to conceal it. Then, there was a faint rustle coming from the ground and eventually Blue came floating awkwardly above the grass. Blue hovered in the air for a short while before tumbling to the soil, only to then resurface few inches further away.

This continued for some time, with Blue clumsily plopping along the grass to catch up with the bee and very gradually wandering deeper into Eden. At the pace his sibling was going, Lucifer did not have to stand up immediately just to keep a vigilant eye on it. Though soon the shadows of the trees obscured Blue's frail glow and Lucifer knew he had to make sure it did not hurt itself or land into any trouble.

Lucifer was by no means complaining; on the contrary, he was elated and thanking God with his entire being that Blue was moving, and even technically flying, for such a considerable period. Yet in spite of this remarkable development, Lucifer could not help but wonder how, of all things in creation, a measly honeybee managed to bring forth such a receptive, positive response from Blue. Maybe it was because of the funny noise it made, or the vivid selection of colors it wore. Maybe it smelled of honey and flowers, or maybe Blue found the bee exciting simply because it was a bee.

It was not difficult to locate Blue, although judging by its seemingly confused flitting about, Lucifer could tell that his sibling had lost the bee's trail and was now struggling to determine where it ought to go next. A pair of mice unexpectedly scurried along the forest floor and caught Blue's focus, prompting it to follow them instead. The mice made their way to the base of a maple tree and gathered at the spot where the nuts had fallen. Squirrels and hedgehogs were also present there and the animals ate their fill of the acorns in peace, occasionally squeaking and grunting and chirruping in contentment.

Blue had caught up with the mice and almost appeared stunned at the scene ahead, as if the fledgling had never encountered so many creatures before. Wary not to scatter the animals with his imposing presence, Lucifer gingerly approached the site to get a better look of what Blue might do.

At first, Blue was hesitant, uncertain of what to make of the animals in front of it. Then a nut fell from the tree and landed beside Blue. A squirrel soon went to the fresh acorn and Blue nervously crept away. As if the squirrel detected a presence retreating, it cautiously sniffed the air and cheeped a few times, like it was soothing Blue and saying that it meant the angel no harm. Of course, none of the animals can ever really see the forms of angels, but every so often they can sense an aura that was not a part of this dimension.

Reassured somehow, Blue tentatively edged closer until Lucifer was sure his sibling was within the range of the squirrel's breathing. More acorns tumbled along the right side of the tree and the squirrels scampered toward that direction. While doing so, one of the squirrels brushed its fluffy tail against Blue, or at least the spot where Blue was. Aside from not being able to see angels, animals cannot also physically interact with them; the most that squirrel probably felt from Blue was an insignificant tingle, a sensation to be forgotten the second its paws wrapped around another nut.

Blue, meanwhile, appeared ecstatic about the encounter since its light was blinking zealously. Lucifer realized that that was the first time Blue had touched a genuine animal and the experience must have been thrilling for it. The squirrels squeaked, cheeped, and nibbled on acorns in their own little territory but did little else and soon Blue's attention returned to the mice.

A mouse broke away from the group and skittered off into the bushes and Blue, in its own inept method of flying, went after it. As the fledgling gave chase, Lucifer curiously noted that the size of Blue's form was getting bigger, not considerably, but expanding nonetheless. When Lucifer found his sibling, having lost the animal it had been tracking yet again, he was delighted to see that Blue's size can now be compared to a very tiny pebble. It was not much, but Lucifer was happy with the growth.

Since the mouse was gone, Blue drifted underneath the cover of a mushroom. Though Blue did not have a face yet or projected any complex thoughts, a feeling of awe radiated from the fledgling. The mushroom fascinated it, the grass and leaves fascinated it, the whole garden fascinated it; wonder and curiosity illuminated Blue like pieces of the sun shining on a clear surface of water.

"What a peculiar thing you are," commented Lucifer. Heaven could not get this reaction from it; why did Earth succeed?

Eventually, Blue found its way to a bed of white flowers which, for Blue's size, might as well be another forest. For a while, there was no sign of his sibling, and just as Lucifer considered perusing the dainty stalks, Blue slowly reappeared on the leaf of a flower and continued to inch upward like an eager caterpillar. Blue kept climbing until it reached the flower itself. Presumably tired, Blue nestled into the cushiony middle of the flower and wrapped itself with petals and pollen.

A butterfly flitted above Blue and Blue responded by flexing again, stretching as if the limbs that were not yet developed can attempt to touch the creature. On a mound not too far away, a jaguar came up to greet the day with a powerful roar. The sound was so tremendous that Blue shrank back in fright; Lucifer picked his sibling up and decided that they should go someplace else.

There was a river on the other side of the trees, a portion of Eden where the larger animals had not discovered so far. Quicker than a blink, Lucifer and Blue were at the riverbank and their arrival – or the archangel's anyway – sent a gust of wind throughout the area, rustling the surrounding foliage.

"Alright, what can we do here?" Lucifer asked no one in particular.

He looked around for anything remotely interesting, and preferably new, that would get Blue active again. There were trees, but the birds and monkeys that usually resided in them were momentarily gone. Deep in the soil were worms and beetles but Lucifer did not want Blue going underground any time soon.

He then felt Blue's light pulsating beneath his hands in a manner that suggested his sibling was directing Lucifer to something. Opening his hands, Blue drifted out like a glittering dust particle that was caught in the breeze and swirled downward to the part where the water lapped at the earth.

Initially, Lucifer thought that Blue wanted to try its luck on swimming (which would make it even more peculiar than it already was). Although he later learned that Blue was transfixed by the fishes nipping at algae in the shallows. They were not the most astounding of fish; they had a dull gray hue and lived out their lives staring at the rocks that had rolled into the bottom of the river. Nonetheless, Blue wanted to examine them closer.

To make the matter more fun, Lucifer found a leaf that was spacious enough to accommodate Blue, gently placed it on the water, and put his sibling on the leaf. As a being of pure, supernatural light and energy, Blue did not weigh anything so the leaf should have no problem floating… unless Blue accidentally discovered how to spark a fire, which was, though unlikely, still probable to happen.

The wind picked up and the leaf Blue was on set off into the river. Blue quickly blinked its light a couple of times in alarm, or maybe in excitement – it was hard to tell since Blue had no facial expressions, and the two emotions were so similar that it was tricky to differentiate them in this situation. Regardless, Blue's agitation melted away when a school of fish was swimming beneath the leaf.

Blue went to the edge of the leaf to get a better look at the fishes. One of them swam so close to the surface that its fins were almost out of the water; Blue's light shone brighter in amazement. However, the fishes propelled themselves faster and were out of Blue's range in less than half a minute.

With the current taking the leaf farther, Lucifer meandered along the riverbank to check how his sibling was doing. As an archangel, he was outstandingly huge and powerful, and if he simply wanted to keep track of Blue he can stay in one spot. Even while sitting down, he can see exactly where the river began, where it would end, and all its hidden twists and turns in between. And if he wanted to monitor Blue closer, he can merely use his mind's eye to watch over the fledgling. But Lucifer refused to sit down from afar; he cared too much about Blue's safety.

Blue's radiance had dimmed slightly, like it was sad that the gray fishes had gone. The leaf floated into the dark part of the river, where the canopies were so thick that they prevented much of the sunlight from penetrating. There were also large boulders near the shore so that whatever scant light had made it through the trees were still cut off from the ground. Shadows clothed the river and, apparently, Blue disliked the darkness. It moved to the center of the leaf and huddled in on itself; waves of distress emanated from Blue and Lucifer could almost feel it calling out for him specifically.

Before he could reach out to his sibling, a firefly emerged from the trees and opportunely decided to land on Blue's leaf. Blue stopped moving at its arrival, though unsure what to make of the creature. Lucifer chuckled softly; Blue must be wondering why the firefly was glowing. From what Blue had observed recently, animals did not glow, and to have one twinkling in front of it must be confusing for it. Lucifer wished Blue already knew how to talk; it would be so much more convenient to hear Blue's actual opinions.

What happened next did not involve Blue uttering its first words. What happened next was Blue blinking, not its light, but its _eyes_. Two pinpricks of the most dazzling blue, as if the color of sapphires had been intensified tenfold and was blended with the twilight sky, sparkled visibly on the fledgling's form. Now, Blue was truly staring at the firefly, and its eyes were widening in enthrallment.

Like that was not enough progress, Blue attempted to communicate with the firefly, strangely, by chirruping. The sound resembled – no, it was exactly the sound the squirrel from earlier had made. Blue was only repeating a sound it had previously heard, storing the vibrations within itself for future application when it managed to figure out a suitable use for it, sort of like a tool. It seemed that Blue's real voice will not be heard until some time, which was a shame. Nevertheless, this showed that Blue was learning from the world in its own odd methods.

Lucifer sensed a group of angels approaching the area even before they crossed into the territory of Eden. Not wanting to be disturbed or noticed, Lucifer cloaked his and Blue's signature and waited for them to pass by overhead. They appeared a second later, fourteen of them, and they were all medium- to moderately high-ranking angels, suggesting that they were not performing an ordinary patrol. They had an assignment to complete, and if that particular assignment required this many angels, then it would have to be something important.

On its gently floating leaf, Blue saw the angels zooming spectacularly through the clouds and got excited, if also a tad intimidated. Even for someone as young as Blue, knowing that a being was an angel was an instinctive comprehension, like how a baby animal can recognize its own kind.

After the group had flown off, Blue stared at their trail with longing in its newly-created eyes. It tried to fly again, exerting so much effort into the act that Blue appeared to be on the brink of exploding, yet failed and ended up plopping into the river. Lucifer rescued Blue before his sibling became fully submerged.

"At least now I know where your front is." commented Lucifer genially. "And I'd know if you're ignoring me or not."

Blue looked up at him and said nothing.

There was a nest hidden in a shrub, located a considerable distance away and which Lucifer spotted with his enhanced vision. The eggs had already hatched and the birds had flown away a few days ago, leaving just eggshells and down feathers in the humble nest. He flew them over to the site anyway because Blue might be interested; plus, it was best to keep moving in order to elude the patrolling angels' attention.

It would have been nice if Blue witnessed the hatching process of birds, since his sibling would not only gain a bit of understanding on life, but be encouraged as well. If God had went through the effort of providing a bird everything it would ever require to live properly – organs, feathers, wings, eyes, the ability of flight – then an angel like Blue ought to be much more blessed.

Lucifer placed Blue into the empty nest to see if it would do anything. At first, the fledgling did nothing, not even look around the pile of sticks and twigs. Then Blue slowly inched forward, inquisitive, perhaps drawn by the slightly familiar pull of being in a place where creatures with wings were brought into existence. Broken pieces of eggshells and puffy white feathers littered the nest; Lucifer soon learned that this had been a dove's nest, and that four chicks had hatched here.

A fragment of an eggshell, still mostly whole, blocked Blue's path of exploring the remainder of nest. Instead of going around it, Blue tried to touch it, as if it distantly remembered that it, too, had emerged from some type of casing not too long ago. Although Blue's incorporeal, infantile form made it barely possible for the fledgling to deal any noticeable effects to the shell.

Blue continued investigating and eventually bumped into one of the feathers left behind by the previous inhabitants. What made the feather fascinating was that it originated from one of the chicks; it was soft and pure, but not appropriate for flying. Generally, the feather was like Blue, for it symbolized the potential of reaching the sky though not the capacity to do so, at least not yet. Throughout the chick's life, its down feathers will grow out to be replaced by mature flight feathers, and only then will it be capable of taking to the air and seeing the world.

Perhaps the feather appealed to Blue, or perhaps it grasped the object's representation; either way, Blue approached the feather and nuzzled itself against the delicate material. It was cute and weird at the same time, albeit it was mostly weird. Nonetheless, as Blue did so, its size began to grow again, so Lucifer did not stop it.

"You'll fly soon enough." he said softly.

He felt a ripple across the sky and, for an instant, he thought that the angels were coming back. However, when Lucifer glanced upward, he was greeted by the sight of a group of white doves encircling the perimeter. Two of the birds in the formation were the chicks that were once helpless in the nest, though now they were flying proudly with their own kind. The doves' collective coos can be heard all the way down, which brought Blue's attention to the clouds.

Lucifer directed Blue to the doves soaring above them. "See that? That's what unity is all about." he said.

Blue's light flickered very briefly, as if acknowledging Lucifer's words.

"'Unity' means parts forming a whole… individual beings coming together to achieve something." explained Lucifer. "Remember when I told you about 'will'? How an angel like yourself can do many great things?"

Blue did not make a sound, but its eyes showed that it was listening.

"It's true a single angel can achieve so much. But when we work together with our brothers and sisters, we can fulfill impossible deeds." said Lucifer. "As an angel, you must know that you are never alone when carrying out a duty. We function best as a whole because we are made to _act_ as a whole. We can accomplish a lot more if we cooperate with one another; our lights will burn brighter and hotter when we are in harmony."

To demonstrate his point, Lucifer conjured five tiny flames in the air directly above Blue. He then drew the flames into the center until they combined, forming a much bigger fire that was more beautiful and manifest than the parts that comprised it. He waved his hand so that the fire will disappear and so that the nest would not be unintentionally burnt.

"More importantly, we are a family. We care about one another; we look after our siblings and our siblings look after us. We teach each other what needs to be understood. In numbers, we strive more, we want to prove that we are worthy to receive such an overwhelming support. Alone, an angel might fail and a mission is forever lost. But with a group, the mission can still be completed." said Lucifer.

He picked up Blue and held the fledgling in front of him. "And in our unity, we show our love." he added. If Gabriel was here, he would be laughing hysterically at how 'mushy' Lucifer had become. Though if he was _indeed_ here, camouflaged somewhere, Lucifer will punch him into the next galaxy.

"We may not always enjoy the company of our brothers and sisters…" As with the case of Gabriel and his annoying, immature habits. "Our affections may not be returned in the way we expected…" As with the case of Raphael and his aloof nature. "And sometimes we may get into quarrels…" As with the ever-obedient and stubborn Michael. "But we are still one family, and there is no changing that."

Lucifer looked down and noted that Blue seemed to be contemplating a subject, or absorbing the words he had uttered. Blue's eyes were filled with something Lucifer cannot identify – was it bewilderment? Was it comprehension? Worry? Anticipation?

Before Lucifer was even aware of it, Blue was endeavoring to fly once more. The fledgling succeeded in getting an inch higher this time, but its energy rapidly drained and Blue plopped back onto Lucifer's waiting hand. Lucifer stroked the edges of Blue's light to comfort it.

"I wish you can already speak. It feels weird with just me talking." he said. "Then again, if you can talk, you might call me boring or sappy. For all I know, you might've been making fun of me this whole time." he joked.

There was no perceptible reaction from Blue, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. Although, a bee was heard buzzing along the shrubs and Blue immediately lit up and followed it. Additionally, Blue was cooing like a dove as it chased the bee, which meant that it had recorded another sound it had heard recently.

"How is it that you find a bee more interesting than your own brother?" said Lucifer in slight irritation. He was an _archangel_, the brightest out of all of them, and Blue displayed more enthusiasm at a bee. This was degrading. Did he have to clothe himself in black and yellow stripes to become more appealing?

"I can't believe I'm jealous of a bee." Lucifer muttered. He gathered his wounded pride and went after Blue.

Despite Blue's bizarre liking of bees, it was good to see that the fledgling can become happy over something. When Lucifer caught up, he saw that Blue was trying to reach for the bee, albeit what made that more significant was that the first indication of limbs were starting to sprout from Blue's form. Short, shapeless bumps of light that were meant to be arms were jutting out of Blue's outer glow, stretching upward as much as they could to hold the bee. Unluckily, the bee flew higher and further from Blue's extremely limited grasp until vanishing into the forest. Blue's arms fell to its sides in defeat, nearly disappearing as well, but Lucifer could see the merest bulge on Blue's left and right, which assured him that they would be a more permanent presence.

Without warning, rain began to fall over Eden and Lucifer's admiration of his sibling's development was cut short. He got Blue and went in search for shelter, because while this weather was harmless for regular angels, he could not risk a barely-formed fledgling drowning in a raindrop. Exploring the Earth would have to wait.

TBC

* * *

_"Blue" is still technically an "it" because Luci's not sure if it's a boy or a girl._

_Thanks a lot for reading! Just one more chapter left for this story…_


	27. 3rd part

_And I want a moment to be real,_

_Wanna touch things I don't feel,_

_Wanna hold on and feel I belong._

_And how can they say I never change_

_They're the ones that stay the same._

_I'm the one now,_

_'Cause I'm still here._

_._

_I'm Still Here ~ Johny Rzeznik_

* * *

Rain fell over Eden. The fields and the forests that had once been shining vibrantly under the sun were now cloaked in the watery blues and grays of the downpour. Mist was forming in the land's higher regions, and the steady rhythm of droplets pattering on the foliage lulled the animals to a sense of tranquility.

A cave was tucked away behind rows of olive trees, which provided Lucifer with a bit of cover as he stood near its entrance. As an archangel, he did not need to take shelter from the rain, but Blue was still sensitive to the elements, and he would much rather have his sibling in a dry, secured place. After all, given Blue's delicate size, a single raindrop might as well have been a boulder being hurled from the sky. And Lucifer was not sure what a direct contact with water can do to a newly-formed fledgling.

Lucifer held Blue snugly in his hands, and every so often he could feel his sibling twitching underneath, almost as if it was shivering from the cold. He looked up just in time to witness a spectacular bolt of lightning flash and spread across the clouds like electric veins. Moments later, the rumble of thunder filled the air and shook the ground in a way that resembled a heartbeat, and in an instant, it was as if the sky was alive.

Rather than be awed at the sight, Blue shrank further into Lucifer's hands and emitted a wave of fear.

"Shh, it's alright. It's just thunder, nothing to be scared off." cooed Lucifer as he turned himself away from the cave's mouth. "Someday, perhaps, I'll teach you to shoot lightning bolts." he added, smiling at his tiny sibling.

Blue gazed up at him with an unreadable expression.

Smirking, Lucifer took Blue deeper into the cave before any more lightning and thunder occurred. It felt odd navigating his massive form through a cramped space in the earth, but somehow the experience was not as uncomfortable as he had expected. Eventually, Lucifer stopped moving when he encountered a group of dozing cheetahs in the middle of the path.

"It seems like we're not the only ones seeking shelter from the rain." he commented.

One of the cheetahs stirred in its sleep which, in turn, woke up its neighboring kin. The other cheetah then started licking its companion and soon the sound of contented purring could be heard.

"Do you hear that?" Lucifer asked Blue. "It means they're happy with each other's presence."

Since it was impossible for the cheetahs to see them, Lucifer let himself hover over the animals so that Blue can have a better look.

"When you're strong enough, you get to spend plenty of time with our siblings. You'll be safe, warm," Lucifer paused as the cheetahs snuggled closer together. "…cared for."

Blue's form flexed a little in response, as if it was longing to feel the presence of the other angels, or at least the brood of fledglings he had 'hatched' with. Lucifer took a bit of warmth from his Grace and wrapped it around Blue in an unconscious effort of apologizing to his sibling for being abandoned in the first place.

After some time, being stuck in a cave was turning out to be a boring way to spend the rest of the day. Lucifer cupped his hands more securely around Blue before he took flight, out of the cave and onto the stars.

He whizzed past cold raindrops and managed to avoid getting hit with a single speck of water. As he penetrated the clouds, lightning and thunder became more noticeable and frequent occurrences. The winds blew with the force of a hundred angels' wing-beats and Lucifer could let himself believe that, here, the sky was truly, incredibly alive. Unfortunately, this intensified Blue's distress.

"Hold on. We're nearly there." said Lucifer.

He beat his wings faster and, in an instant, he burst out of the thick layer of gray clouds and found himself in the place between the planet Earth and the magnificence of the galaxy. It was like a moment of twilight, when it was neither day nor night but instead something entirely different.

The slight trembling in Lucifer's hands reminded him that he was still holding a panicked fledgling.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for frightening you." Lucifer murmured, trying to calm down his sibling. He gently stroked the edge of Blue's light several times and ultimately succeeded, or at least he hoped he succeeded; it was hard to tell since Blue lacked most facial features.

Regardless, Lucifer was certain that the spectacle in front of them will cheer up his distraught sibling. "Look at where we are." he said, elevating Blue on one hand.

Beyond them was an infinite blackness dotted with an equally infinite number of stars. From this angle, it was almost like staring up at the largest canopy ever created, except the void of space did not quiver like how leaves would when the slightest puff of air went by. However, the stars were always in motion: their lights were constantly swirling and spinning as if they were caught in an eternal dance, pulling rocks and forming planets in a manner similar to calling out partners to join them. Solar systems developed and galaxies grew; colors flared and faded to an impossible beat and everything was just… wonderful.

"It's a marvelous sight, isn't it?" said Lucifer. "And you know what? You're more brilliant than any star." he told Blue, lowering his sibling so that it met his eyes.

Lucifer sought out a cloud to sit on. Technically, it was not necessary; he can remain airborne, completely still, for days if he wanted to, which was ridiculous but could at least do it. The reason for placing himself onto a cloud was to put all his focus on Blue, rather than divide it with anything else, like flying.

"Do you remember the bee you were chasing?" Lucifer asked.

Blue scrunched its face (or what currently represented its face) and emitted a bit of a glow, like what a tiny creature would do to appear larger.

"Yes, it _is _bigger than you." chuckled Lucifer, although he quickly became serious. "But your mission is more important than the bee's. Your purpose is more significant than any animal, plant, or galaxy that Father has created, or will ever create."

He could be imagining things, but he could have sworn that Blue was tilting its head in confusion.

"You were made to directly serve God, and there is no higher purpose than that." said Lucifer. He stared out at space for a while before returning his attention on Blue.

"I suppose that's our core definition: purpose." he stated. "We all have a part to play in this world, from making sure the flowers bloom to igniting a cosmos."

He paused to let the words sink in. Lucifer briefly wondered what Blue will do when he – or she – matured. Would his sibling gain authority over simple matters, or would Blue surprise everyone by taking on a nearly impossible responsibility? It was hard to imagine the latter given Blue's present fragility, but there was always hope.

As if to prove that point, Blue attempted to fly again. It managed to hover and wobble in the air for about a single heartbeat before clumsily plopping back onto Lucifer's hand.

He smiled. "Most things are fleeting, but not us. We're created to last forever because we have very important things to do in God's overall plan." he said, then softly added, "You're alive for a reason. Never forget that."

There was silence for a moment before it was broken by the sound of purring. It did not take long for Lucifer to realize that it was Blue who was purring and that, again, his sibling was copying animal noises to express itself. Although he was pleased that Blue was putting in effort to communicate, he wished he could hear its true voice.

"Are you kidding me?"

Lucifer did not need to turn around to know that that annoying tone of voice belonged to Gabriel, but he did so anyway.

"What are you doing – ?" he began.

"I'm looking for the great, big, glittery dunderhead who calls himself Lucifer." interrupted Gabriel. "Do you have any idea where I've been trying to find you? And then I see you here nesting on a random-ass cloud – !"

"Watch your language." interjected Lucifer.

Gabriel pulled a face at him. "I don't give a flying crap about my language right now because the big guy's looking for you."

That caused Lucifer to become rigidly still. "God?"

"The _other _big guy." said Gabriel.

Lucifer remained unmoving as the feeling of elated honor shriveled away like a piece of fruit under a formidable source of heat. Of course the 'other big guy' had something on his mind. He placed Blue onto the cloud before the urge to crush overwhelmed him.

"What does he want?" Lucifer impassively asked.

"You mean besides getting that stick out of his massive – " Gabriel stopped when Lucifer glared at him. "As if Michael trusts me to get my hands on the really juicy info. All I know is that he wants to 'discuss' something with you." he said.

"Just me? What about you and Raphael?" inquired Lucifer.

Gabriel mock-gasped and began wiping imaginary tears out of his eyes. "Aww, someone cares about me!" he said in an exaggeratedly sweet voice.

If it were not for Blue's presence, Lucifer would have punched him to the next continent. "Gabriel, as insufferable as you are, you're still an archangel. Whatever Michael needs to 'discuss,' we should all be present." he unperturbedly stated.

"Nah, I don't really care. It's probably another boring staff meeting, and you remember what happened last time Michael hauled me into one." said Gabriel.

Neither of them said anything for a moment, albeit they both erupted into fits of laughter a short while later at the memory of that one brilliant incident.

"Trust me, I'm better off _outside_ the office." said Gabriel as he composed himself. He looked over Lucifer's wings and noticed Blue. "Hey, you don't think it's about that, do you?" he questioned.

Lucifer spared a glance at Blue, who appeared to be imitating the movement of clouds (which was slightly adorable). "If you told him – "

"I _did not _tell him! Sheesh, keep your sparkles on." Gabriel remarked.

Sensing that the moment of peace was officially gone, Lucifer scooped Blue up and gave the fledgling to a startled Gabriel. "Take Blue back to my chambers. _No _side-stops." he ordered.

Gabriel choked back a laugh. "Seriously? You're calling him…" He began turning Blue over in his hands as if their sibling was nothing more than a pebble and Gabriel was trying to pinpoint any distinguishing feature. "…her, it, whatever Blue?" he snickered.

"It's temporary." said Lucifer.

Gabriel was still amused at his lack of creativity. "Oh hey, pick up some new insults from Michael for me, would ya? I'm starting to run out and he thinks up the most creative stuff when he's with you." he said.

That might as well have been his way of saying 'good luck' to him. "Just take Blue home." said Lucifer.

After taking one last look at Blue in Gabriel's hand, Lucifer took off.

O_x

This was unbelievable. This was… _unacceptable_!

God was apparently planning on creating a new species – humans – and Lucifer generally had no problem with that. In fact, he delighted in new life. But God wanted the angels, every one of them, to protect the humans and love them more than they will ever love God. The humans, as Michael had briefed him earlier, were going to be immensely flawed and will one day destroy paradise in the midst of their own struggles. What was more, the birth of humanity was to be God's greatest achievement, and the world would be theirs to command. There had been some other details, but they had become lost in a haze of fury.

Lucifer wanted to rip out the core of every sun in the universe.

The reason why Michael had wanted to talk to him alone was because he wanted to know how he would react to the news before announcing it to the others. Michael had thought that if Lucifer embraced the concept of humanity, then their brothers and sisters would easily follow in his belief. Obviously, Michael now had to think of a gentler approach to when he will broadcast it throughout Heaven.

Michael, of course, was not too pleased with God's plan either, but being the sickeningly obedient son that he was, he took it in stride. Lucifer, on the other hand, was absolutely furious.

How could God ask them to do this? How could He ask _him _to do this? It was not right. He will not stand for such a disgrace!

Seething, he immediately flew to his chambers, knocking several angels in mid-flight along the way. To be honest, he had no clue of the actual extent of damage he caused in such a short span of time, but he did not care. He wanted the entirety of Heaven to know that he was angry.

At least Gabriel would be pleased to hear that his and Michael's recent argument had indeed brought on insults of the highest, most creative degree.

If the doors to his chambers did not serve the purpose of giving him privacy, Lucifer would have annihilated them off their threshold in pure rage. Once he sealed off all the entrances, Lucifer tried to locate the nearest target he could incinerate. His yearning to destroy, however, immediately dissipated when a tiny, practically inconspicuous sound reached him.

"Buh…"

Lucifer scanned the whole area, and his Grace swelled with joy and lit up his form with incredible radiance when his gaze landed on Blue.

"Buh… Buh-rother…"

From the other end of the room, Blue was very shakily floating upward – No, the fledgling was not floating, it was _flying_! Sure enough, the barest impression of wings was visible and they were doing their utmost best to keep Blue in the air.

"Bro-other…" Blue was fluttering its way toward Lucifer. "Love…"

Blue was talking. Blue was talking _and _flying. This was the most remarkable blessing Lucifer could ever ask for; he almost wanted to weep in sheer gratitude.

He caught Blue just as its strength was beginning to waver. For what felt like forever, Lucifer merely stood in place, holding onto his sibling like he had the most beautiful miracle in his hands. It had only been across the room; nonetheless, that was the longest distance that Blue had conquered without falling. And it had uttered its first words.

Consumed with happiness and the desire to protect, Lucifer held the fledgling even closer. "I love you, too." he murmured.

As he continued to hold his sibling, he could feel a change happening within the small form: a growth, a shift, a spark of higher consciousness… And like the whisper of dawn promising a new day, Lucifer heard Blue's true name.

"I love you, too… Castiel."

He can deal with humanity some other time.

O_x

_"Castiel. I don't understand why you're fighting me, of all the angels."_

_"You really have to ask?"_

_"I rebelled, I was cast out. _You_ rebelled, _you_ were cast out. Almost all of Heaven wants to see me dead and if they succeed, guess what? You're their new public enemy number one."_

End.

* * *

_And that _finally _concludes Notes Tied to Balloons! Thank you once again to everyone who has read this story! Thank you for your support, your words of encouragement, and for sticking with this thing until the very end. It really means a lot to me, and I wish I could hug each one of you but I physically can't, so here's me showering you all with my love and gratitude! And I do apologize for the, oftentimes, long days it takes for some of the chapters to go up. Every once in a while, I get crushed with stress, run out of ideas, and have mild cases of OCD when it comes to editing and sentence constructions. So, yeah. Sorry for the weeks/months you guys had to wait._

_ANNOUNCEMENT: It's official now. I've decided to make a sorta-sequel for NTTB, featuring the angels that were not given their own stories here: Inias, Hesther, Samandriel, and the rest! I'm still not sure on what the title will be, so don't ask me on what that series will be called (my brain is mush as of the moment)._

_Why is it a "sorta-sequel" you ask? Well, after realizing how damn mind-numbingly, insanely, complicated it is to think up of several stories and span them into exactly three chapters, I've decided to shorten the next batch of stories. It would still be like NTTB, but not exactly. Basically, it would just be a collection of one-shots, instead of short multi-chaptered stories. I know it kinda sucks and it's unfairly lazy of me, but there's a buttload of stuff I need to do in the coming months, like make sense of my job (oh hey, I got a job and apparently I have to contribute to this thing called society) and revise my novel for the nth time. I'll still post fanfic but, for now, I don't see myself working on any lengthy fics. Still, you never know!_

_In the meantime, look forward to the other angels fledgling!Cas will be interacting with! I already have ideas fleshed out for each of the next angels. Any character/s you guys want to read about? Any suggestions for their stories? Let me know!_

_And for the last time, thank you for reading Notes Tied to Balloons._

_PS: I've made a Doctor Who fanvideo. You can find the link on my main page if you wanna watch it :D_


End file.
